Writing & media

Op-eds, blog posts, TV, radio and podcast appearances by Omar Hammoud-Gallego on UK asylum policy, small boats, Venezuelan migration and Latin American migration policy.

I write and comment for general audiences on asylum and immigration policy in the UK, Europe and Latin America, and on local democracy in London, in English and Spanish.

Media enquiries: omar.hammoud-gallego@durham.ac.uk. Interviews in English, Spanish and Italian.

Opinion and analysis

  • Three likely scenarios for Venezuela after Donald Trump’s meddling. The Big Issue, 13 January 2026. Read
  • Has immigration led to a new form of labour market protectionism in Europe? With P. McGovern and E. Thielemann. LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP), 19 August 2025. Read
  • Why representation in local politics in London matters. With K. Lawall, A. Bulat and I. McRae. LSE British Politics and Policy, 19 March 2025. Read
  • Labour’s latest immigration policy is counterproductive. LSE British Politics and Policy, 19 February 2025. Read
  • A new wave of Venezuelan refugees would threaten a humanitarian crisis: Latin America could learn from Europe. The Conversation, September 2024. Read
  • Cómo no responder a la migración venezolana. El Comercio (Peru), 5 September 2024. In Spanish. Read
  • Labour needs a pragmatic approach to the “small boats” issue. LSE British Politics and Policy, 26 July 2024. Read
  • Symbolic refugee protection: why Latin America passed progressive refugee laws never meant to use. With L. F. Freier. LSE Latin America and Caribbean Blog, 6 October 2022. Read · En español
  • Here to stay: Latin America must face up to the reality of long-term Venezuelan migration. LSE Latin America and Caribbean Blog, 13 April 2021. Read · En español

Media appearances

Television

  • RTVE (Spain), Telediario, 23 June 2024. On the expected Labour win in the UK general election. In Spanish. Watch
  • GB News, 25 June 2024. Migration and asylum ahead of the UK general election. Watch
  • GB News, 18 March, 1 May and 21 May 2024. Debates with Nigel Farage, Christopher Hope and Tom Harwood on migration and asylum in the UK. Watch · Watch
  • GB News, 29 February 2024. Debate with Nigel Farage on the economic contribution of migrants to the UK. Watch
  • Caracol Televisión (Colombia), Una Mirada al Mundo, February 2024. Interview with María Emma Mejía on migration across Latin America. In Spanish. Watch
  • GB News, 12 December 2023 and 17 January 2024. Debates with Nigel Farage and Richard Tice on the UK government’s Rwanda plan. Watch (December) · Watch (January)

Radio and podcasts

  • Panamá en Directo (Panama), 27 June 2024. Venezuelan displacement and migrants crossing the Darién Gap. In Spanish. Listen
  • Times Radio, Evening Edition with Kait Borsay, 1 November 2022. The UK “migration crisis” in European context. Listen
  • Radio Social (Panama), 29 October 2022. The Venezuelan migration crisis and the case for regularisation. In Spanish. Listen
  • Veneco Podcast, Episode 15, October 2022. Asylum and refugee systems in Latin America, with Juan Andrés Misle. Listen on Spotify · Apple Podcasts

Press and online interviews

  • Centro de Políticas Migratorias (Chile), Instagram Live with Juan Pablo Ramaciotti, 31 May 2024. Migration in Latin America. In Spanish. Watch
  • LSE Research for the World, June 2024. “The fourth estate: can the media change our feelings about democracy?”, on the British Journal of Political Science study. Read
  • El Pitazo (Venezuela), June 2023. On the low recognition rates of Venezuelans as refugees in Latin America, for World Refugee Day. In Spanish. Read

Talks

  • Center for Global Development, Washington DC, 3 October 2022. Research seminar on asylum policy in Latin America and visa restrictions on Venezuelans, chaired by Michael Clemens with Mathias Czaika as discussant. Event and recording