1. Alejandro Nicolas Mayorkas was born on November 24,1959 and is an American attorney and government official who was the seventh United States secretary of homeland security, serving from 2021 until 2025.
23 Facts About Alejandro Mayorkas
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In 2009, Alejandro Mayorkas was a member of the presidential transition team for Barack Obama, leading the team responsible for the US Department of Justice's Criminal Division.
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Alejandro Mayorkas led US government efforts to rescue orphaned children following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and led the advancement of a crime victims unit that, for the first time, made it possible for the agency to issue the statutory maximum number of visas to victims of crime.
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On November 23,2020, Alejandro Mayorkas was nominated by President-elect Joe Biden for the position of secretary of homeland security.
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Alejandro Mayorkas is the first cabinet member to be impeached since William Belknap in 1876.
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Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas was born in Havana, Cuba, on November 24,1959.
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Alejandro Mayorkas's mother, Anita, was a Romanian Jew whose family escaped the Holocaust and fled to Cuba in the 1940s before leaving for the United States after the Cuban Revolution.
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Alejandro Mayorkas graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction.
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Alejandro Mayorkas received his Juris Doctor in 1985 from Loyola Law School, where he was an editor of the Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review.
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From 1996 to 1998, Alejandro 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.
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In 1998, Alejandro 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.
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In late 2000, Alejandro Mayorkas was one of many California officials who participated in efforts to obtain executive clemency for narcotics trafficker Carlos Vignali Jr.
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In 2009, Alejandro Mayorkas was appointed by President Obama as the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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Alejandro Mayorkas led US government efforts to rescue orphaned children following the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti and led the advancement of a crime victims unit that, for the first time, resulted in the ability of the agency to administer the statutory maximum number of visas to victims of crime.
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In October 2016, Alejandro Mayorkas joined the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr in the firm's Washington office.
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On November 23,2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced his plan to nominate Alejandro Mayorkas to be Secretary of Homeland Security.
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Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 2,2021, after his confirmation that day.
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In May 2021, Alejandro Mayorkas led the establishment of a task force dedicated to reuniting families separated at the southern border during the Trump administration.
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On October 19,2021, Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for COVID-19 during a test performed as part of pre-travel protocol.
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In October 2022, The Heritage Foundation released emails that showed that, hours before the press conference, Alejandro Mayorkas received emails that disproved the whipping claim, including from the photographer himself.
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On October 31,2023, Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the Senate Homeland Security Committee that more than 600,000 people illegally made their way into the United States without being apprehended by border agents during the 2023 fiscal year.
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On November 9,2023, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, citing a dereliction of duty and saying he "failed to maintain operational control of the [Southern] border".
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On January 28,2024, House Republicans introduced two articles of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas, alleging "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and breach of the public trust.