Who is the New Secretary of Homeland Security, ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS?

Mayorkas, a lawyer and former federal prosecutor, arrived in the United States at the age of one when his parents, a Havana Jew and a Romanian Jew, fled to the United States to escape from communism, persecution, and abuse after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959.

He experienced first-hand the serious problems, fears, legal irregularities, and emotional instability of refugees and immigrants in general. His nomination is an important step in favor of immigrants.

Proud of his Cuban and immigrant background, Alejandro Mayorkas graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and received his law degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, he began his career as a lawyer in the private sector as part of the firm O'Melveny & Myers. Currently, in addition to his work with DHS, he maintains the practice of law at the international law firm of WilmerHale, and is well known for his work with non-profit organizations in legal services to the poor, refugee resettlement, and education of disadvantaged youth. His work was instrumental in developing the DACA program that allowed thousands of children who came to the United States illegally to develop, and many of them are part of the first line of defense against the COVID-19 pandemic.

He worked as a Director of Immigration (USCIS), received numerous awards from civic and community organizations, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).

We look forward to the start of his charge at the Department of Homeland Security which is, as he said, “a noble mission to help keep us safe and to advance our proud history as a country of welcome".