Padilla Votes to Confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as Secretary of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) voted to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas to serve as the next secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
“I am proud to support and eager to work with new Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. As the first Latino and the first immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security, he brings a unique, timely, and important perspective to the department. Secretary Mayorkas and I share a sense of urgency to reverse the cruel immigration policies of the Trump administration and pass comprehensive immigration reform. I am confident that Secretary Mayorkas will fight to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, work to reunite families that have been torn apart, and make much needed progress toward giving undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship, particularly for the millions of essential workers that have been on the frontlines of our pandemic response.
“I have known Secretary Mayorkas since my days on the Los Angeles City Council when he served as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and I am excited to work with him now on key issues facing California, including FEMA’s partnership with state and local governments on COVID-19 relief and improving FEMA’s response to wildfires and other disaster recovery efforts. Further, as the former chief elections officer for California, I know Secretary Mayorkas will be a key partner in protecting our free and fair elections.”
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