Biden chooses Alejandro Mayorkas as first immigrant to head homeland security

President-elect Joe Biden said on Monday he was appointing Alejandro Mayorkas, a former Obama administration official, to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a key role as head of efforts to cancel President Trump’s wave of immigration changes.

Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant who arrived in the United States as a political refugee, would be the first immigrant secretary and the first Latino to head the department, a bureaucratic juggernaut with more than 240,000 employees responsible for border and transportation security, immigration enforcement, cybersecurity, disaster response and other law enforcement functions.

“When I was very young, the United States provided a place of refuge for my family and I. Now I have been appointed secretary of DHS and oversee the protection of all Americans and those fleeing persecution in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones, ”Mayorkas said on Twitter.

Born in Havana, Mayorkas left Cuba with his family in the 1960s after left-wing revolutionaries Fidel Castro ousted Fulgencio Batista, a strongman backed by the United States, to establish a communist regime. Her mother, a Romanian Jew, had fled to Cuba in the 1940s to escape the Nazi occupation of Europe.

In 2009, Mayorkas joined the Obama administration as director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that adjudicates claims for immigration benefits such as green cards, work permits and naturalization ceremonies. President Barack Obama appointed Mayorkas as Deputy Secretary of DHS in 2013, a role for which he was later confirmed by the Senate, becoming the most senior Cuban American in government.

Mayorkas worked at the international law firm WilmerHale after his stint in the Obama administration.

A transition adviser to Mr Biden praised Mayorkas’ selection, telling CBS News he had “extensive experience, knows the department well, is well regarded by the immigrant advocacy community and by the police”.

Michigan Senator Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, praised Mr Biden for picking a candidate with previous experience in leading DHS.

“Our nation faces persistent threats, both old and new, including foreign and domestic terrorism, natural disasters, cyber attacks and now a pandemic,” Peters said in a statement. “The Department of Homeland Security plays a vital role in combating these threats and strengthening our national security, and it needs highly skilled, experienced and dedicated leaders like Mr. Mayorkas – especially after years of chaos and mismanagement. ”

Several current DHS leaders – including the two most senior officials in the department, Chad Wolf and Ken Cuccinelli – hold interim positions or remain “senior officials performing the duties” of positions confirmed by the Senate.

Mr Biden’s transition office pointed out that Mayorkas was confirmed by the Senate for three different positions, including his appointment in 1998 as a US lawyer in Los Angeles. Mayorkas, however, could face a restricted confirmation vote next year, especially if Republicans succeed in defending Georgian Senate seats in January.

Republican lawmakers could rely on a 2015 DHS inspector general report that Mayorkas improperly interfered in visa decisions on behalf of multiple companies – a finding he strongly denied.

John Sandweg, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under Obama’s presidency, called Mayorkas “a great choice” for the DHS secretary. “He has a solid track record in law enforcement, he will be racing and he favors good politics over good politics,” Sandweg added.

Mayorkas’ selection indicates that the new Biden administration will prioritize immigration policy, which DHS adopts and generally implements, along with the Department of Justice. During his tenure in the Obama administration, Mayorkas worked to implement the Deferred Action Program for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which protected hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to the states. – United as minors against deportation.

In four years, Mr. Trump has reshaped the U.S. immigration system, issuing more than 400 policy changes to restrict asylum, reduce humanitarian protections for immigrants living in the country, make it more difficult to obtain cards green, expand the number of people who can be deported and reduce refugee admissions. .

Mr. Biden has sworn to overthrow or modify many of those changes, and Mayorkas would likely oversee those efforts.

Texas Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro, chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and frequent critic of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, said he looked forward to working with Mayorkas “to treat immigrants with dignity and respect.” .

“After the cruelty and devastation caused by the Trump administration, Mayorkas has a mandate to overhaul the DHS,” Castro said.

Andres Triay contributed reporting.