[31] The report concluded that "The juxtaposition of Mr. Mayorkas' communication with external stakeholders on specific matters outside the normal procedures, coupled with favorable action that deviated from the regulatory scheme designed to ensure fairness and evenhandedness in adjudicating benefits, created an appearance of favoritism and special access. [49], Mayorkas was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 2, 2021, after his confirmation that day. [47] Hawley was criticized by the Biden transition team. Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be director of Homeland Security, speaks as President-elect Biden announces his national security nominees and appointees at … [49] Republican Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Rob Portman, Susan Collins, Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan voted with the Democrats to confirm Mayorkas. Biden picks California attorney Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Homeland Security department. (Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images via JTA) Citizenship and Immigration Services, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. [48] McConnell then said that Mayorkas has promoted "a culture of fear and disrespect". PRESIDENT-elect Joe Biden nominated Cuban lawyer Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security. [2] Mayorkas was appointed by President Obama as the director of U.S. All Rights Reserved. [39] After the normalization of U.S.-Cuba relations, Mayorkas led the Obama administration's delegation to Cuba,[37] and negotiated with the Cuban government on port and cargo security and U.S.-Cuba travel. [25], Mayorkas oversaw the prosecution of high-profile criminal cases, including the prosecution of the Mexican Mafia in death penalty proceedings, the prosecution of Buford O. Furrow, Jr. for the murder of a federal postal worker and the hate-motivated shooting of children in a community center, the prosecution of Litton Industries for the payment of bribes abroad, and the takedown of the violent 18th Street gang using RICO statutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Alejandro Mayorkas, a former top Obama administration official, will become the first Latino and immigrant to run the Department of Homeland Security after the US Senate voted to confirm his nomination on Tuesday. He came to the U.S. as … The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Alejandro Mayorkas was confirmed as President Biden’s secretary of Homeland Security on Tuesday, filling a key Cabinet post as Washington grapples with the fallout of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and gears up for yet another political fight over immigration policy. [1], From 1996 to 1998, Mayorkas served as Chief of the Office's General Crimes Section, overseeing the training and trial work of all new Assistant United States Attorneys in the Criminal Division. [5], For his work as director of USCIS, Mayorkas received awards from the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. [35][24] His work also focused on cybersecurity. On Tuesday, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell said that Mayorkas "does not deserve Senate confirmation.". Mayorkas has previously served as deputy secretary at DHS under former President Barack Obama. After law school, Mayorkas worked as an Assistant United States Attorney and was appointed the United States attorney for the Central District of California in Los Angeles during the administration of President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, where he oversaw the prosecution of high-profile criminal cases. Doug Ducey & Rep. Michael McCaul were on "This Week" Sunday, March 21. [20] Under Mayorkas's tenure, DHS greatly expanded its Cyber Crimes Center in Fairfax, Virginia, to aid the department's efforts to combat various cybercrimes, ranging from child exploitation to computer hacking and intellectual property theft. [3] On May 20, 2009, the nomination was received by the Senate; on August 7, 2009, the nomination was confirmed by the Senate by voice vote. [1], In late 2000, Mayorkas was one of many California officials who participated in efforts to obtain executive clemency for narcotics trafficker Carlos Vignali, Jr., the son of a wealthy Los Angeles businessman. 19, 2021. He led the transition team responsible for the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division. Mayorkas has the support the Fraternal Order of Police[8] and endorsements from former secretaries Tom Ridge and Michael Chertoff (who served under George W. Bush) and Janet Napolitano and Jeh Johnson (who served under Barack Obama), who said Biden "could not have found a more qualified person". [7] On November 23, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced he would nominate Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security in his Cabinet. We want to hear from you. He graduated UC Berkeley in history with honors. By Clare Foran and Ted Barrett, CNN. Alejandro N. Mayorkas Secretary of Homeland Security BEFORE Committee on Homeland Security U.S. House of Representatives ON “The Way Forward on Homeland Security… [34][13], The DHS inspector general's investigation into Mayorkas's intervention as USCIS director to expedite reviews for applicants for foreign investor visas in three cases caused controversy and delayed his confirmation proceedings. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Gov. "[36], As deputy secretary, Mayorkas's led DHS's response to the 2013–14 Ebola virus epidemic and 2015–16 Zika virus epidemic. During the Obama administration, he also served in the Department of Homeland Security, first as Director of U.S. [19][20][21] The Cuban Revolution marked the second time his mother would be forced to flee a country she considered home. [17], His father, Charles R. "Nicky" Mayorkas, was a Cuban Jew of Turkish Sephardic and Polish Ashkenazi background, who owned and operated a steel wool factory in Havana. © 2021 CNBC LLC. Citizenship and Immigration Services, murder of a federal postal worker and the hate-motivated shooting of children in a community center, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Chinese cyberattacks against American companies, "Feinstein Recommends Mayorkas for U.S. Attorney in L.A.", "Wilmer Partner Alejandro Mayorkas Picked for Homeland Security Secretary", "Biden picks Cuban-American lawyer Mayorkas as U.S. homeland security chief", "PN488 – Alejandro N. Mayorkas – Department of Homeland Security", "Head of U.S. legal immigration system wins high marks from advocates for immigrants", "Quick Start to Program Offering Immigrants a Reprieve", "Law Enforcement Cheers Biden's Homeland Chief", "Opinion: 4 former homeland security secretaries: We cannot afford one more day without a confirmed DHS leader", "Senate confirms Biden's DHS pick after GOP delay", "Harris swears in Mayorkas as homeland security secretary after Senate confirmation vote", "Mayorkas confirmed as secretary of Homeland Security", "Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas – Department of Homeland Security, 113th Congress (2013-2014)", "Mayorkas could bring stability to DHS after years of interim leadership", "HIAS Congratulates Board Member Alejandro Mayorkas on DHS Nomination", "55 Years Later, US Official Prepares for Emotional Return to Cuba", "The family of Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden's pick to head DHS, fled the Nazis and then Cuba before arriving in the United States", "Meet the Cuban Immigrant Who Could Run Homeland Security", "Alejandro Mayorkas, the Cuban-Jewish attorney who may head Biden's DHS", "Biden picks Alejandro Mayorkas, a son of Jewish Cuban refugees, to lead the Department of Homeland Security", "10 Things To Know About The Man Who Could Become The First Caribbean Born U.S. DHS Secretary", "Ex-Homeland Security official Mayorkas returns under Biden", "A Convict in the Storm's Eye Had Plenty of Other Help", "The 50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America", "Letter from Joshua Hoyt, Executive Director", "Top Homeland Official Alejandro Mayorkas Accused of Political Favoritism", "Some USCIS Employees Say Alejandro Mayorkas Gave Special Treatment to Casino Project Backed by Foreigners", "Roll Call Vote: Question: On the Nomination (Confirmation Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security", "Biden Nominates Cuban-Born Lawyer to Lead Homeland Security Dept", "Homeland Security Official Defends Handling of Visa Program", "First Latino tapped to head DHS signals shift from Trump's hard-line immigration policies", "The Cybersecurity 202: Biden's DHS pick adds cybersecurity chops to the incoming administration", "Biden's DHS pick was a 'quick study' of cybersecurity issues as the department's deputy", "Leading a Unity of Effort: A Conversation with Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security", IBM Center for The Business of Government, "Homeland Security cybercrime center expands amid growing concern over computer hacking", "DHS morale sinks further despite new leadership at the top, survey shows", "Top-level turnover makes it harder for DHS to stay on top of evolving threats", "Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Joins WilmerHale", "Biden Will Nominate First Woman to Lead Intelligence, First Latino to Run Homeland Security", "Josh Hawley will delay swift confirmation of Biden's DHS pick", "McConnell Urges Caucus to Oppose Mayorkas for Biden DHS Secretary", "U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 1st Session", "Statement of Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas to the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate", United States Department of Homeland Security, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, United States Secretaries of Homeland Security, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Presidential line of succession in the United States of America, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alejandro_Mayorkas&oldid=1018378421, American people of Romanian-Jewish descent, Hispanic and Latino American members of the Cabinet of the United States, Jewish American members of the Cabinet of the United States, United States Attorneys for the Central District of California, United States Deputy Secretaries of Homeland Security, University of California, Berkeley alumni, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partners, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 17 April 2021, at 19:42. [5] He prosecuted a wide array of federal crimes, developing a specialization in the prosecution of white-collar crime, including tax evasion and money laundering. [12], Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas,[13] nicknamed Ali,[14][15] was born in Havana, Cuba, on November 24, 1959. Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. President-elect Joe Biden's nominee to be director of Homeland Security, speaks as President-elect Biden announces his national security nominees and appointees at his transition headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, November 24, 2020. supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. [5] He implemented the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) process in sixty days. [48], Ultimately, Mayorkas was confirmed on a 56-43 vote. [1], In 1998, Mayorkas was recommended by Senator Dianne Feinstein and appointed by President Bill Clinton as the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, becoming the country's youngest United States Attorney. "I'll be voting against his confirmation and urge our colleagues to do the same," McConnell said. [2], In 2009, Mayorkas was appointed by President Obama as the director of U.S. [1], After three years as a litigation associate in private practice, Mayorkas became an Assistant United States Attorney in the Central District of California in 1989. "[31] The "fast-tracking" of approvals for individuals involved in the casino program was controversial because it was made over the objections of USCIS analysts "who were suspicious about the source of the funds". WASHINGTON – The Senate confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday to lead the nation's Department of Homeland Security, making him the first Latino to hold the role.
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