Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas was born on November 24,1959 and is an American lawyer and politician who has been serving as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security since February 2,2021.
18 Facts About Alejandro Mayorkas
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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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In 2016, Alejandro Mayorkas became a partner at the law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, in their Washington, DC, office.
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Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 2,2021.
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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 to the United States after the Cuban Revolution.
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Alejandro Mayorkas earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1981.
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Alejandro Mayorkas received his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School in 1985.
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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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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 hours before the press conference Alejandro Mayorkas received emails that disproved the whipping claim, including from the photographer himself.