Santiago Vidal Calvo

Cities Policy Analyst (212) 599-7000

Santiago Vidal Calvo

Santiago Vidal Calvo is a Cities policy analyst, working primarily on government accountability and transparency through MI’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) efforts. He deploys open-records requests in New York and other states to secure and analyze data that reveal inefficiency, illuminate policy outcomes, and empower citizens to hold public officials to account. He also works on immigration research, assessing how visa, asylum, and enforcement policies influence urban labor markets and civic integration, providing data-driven recommendations that reconcile economic and security needs. His commentary ranges across government efficiency, urban policy, immigration, ideological influence, national security, and foreign policy.

 

Born in Caracas, Venezuela, Vidal Calvo immigrated to the United States in 2021. He earned a B.A. in political science and economics from Fordham University in 2023 and a Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy in 2025, where he was a Tech & Public Policy Scholar (2023–25). Beginning in Fall 2025 he will pursue a Ph.D. in political science at Texas A&M University’s Bush School of Government and Public Service and serve as a Koch Associate in the Stand Together Fellowship (2025–26).

 

Vidal Calvo’s writing has appeared in the New York Post, City Journal, National Review, RealClearDefense, and Caracas Chronicles.