SIPA Speaks! Navigating the Complexities of Asylum and Migration: An Insider's Perspective

Maria Thornton (MPA), a seasoned expert in asylum and migration policy, will share her frontline experiences from her tenure as an EU asylum officer. Her work, spanning across critical cases in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Eritrea, offers her a unique perspective on the intricacies and emotional challenges of this field. Maria's diverse roles, from adjudicating asylum claims to retrials in deportation centers, underscore the multifaceted nature of migration issues. With a background rooted in Bosnian and Croatian heritage, raised in Sweden, and educated at CUNY as a first-generation student, Maria's journey informs her empathetic approach to migration policy. Her talk will offer a realistic, yet hopeful overview of western asylum practices and the emotional resilience required to navigate them.

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