Asylum Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Omar Araiza is an Asylum Officer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he provides nationwide training on credible fear screening procedures and adjudication. Raised in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and shaped by life on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, he focuses on the intersection of migration and U.S. national security. He previously worked at a refugee resettlement agency supporting refugees, asylees, and human trafficking survivors. Omar earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in global policy studies from the University of Texas at Austin, as well as an associate’s degree in French from Austin Community College. He is a recipient of the Bill Archer Fellowship, Senator Gregory Luna Scholarship, Kathryn Davis Fellowship for Peace, Critical Language Scholarship, Boren Fellowship, and a Foreign Language and Area Studies award. He speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French, and currently studies Haitian Creole.