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President Biden has nominated Alejandro Mayorkas to be the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who will take a key role in the closely watched area of immigration policy.
Here is what to know about Mayorkas:
BIDEN DHS NOMINEE MAYORKAS SAYS ICE SHOULD NOT BE DEFUNDED, DESPITE ICE CALLS
Born in Cuba
Mayorkas was born in Havana, Cuba, and came to California as a child. If confirmed, he would be the first immigrant to serve as head of the Department of Homeland Security.
"My father and mother brought me to this country to escape communism and to provide me with the security, opportunity, and pride that American citizenship brings to each of us," he said in his opening statement at his confirmation hearing.
Former federal prosecutor
Mayorkas trained as a lawyer before eventually working as assistant U.S. Attorney in the Central District of California. He was later nominated by then-President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the Senate as U.S. Attorney for the district -- making him the youngest U.S. attorney at that time.
Homeland Security Secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during his confirmation hearing in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Bill Clark/Pool via AP)
Served as head of USCIS under Obama
Mayorkas served as head of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from 2009 until 2013, after which he was picked to be deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
During the Obama administration, he was a key figure in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which shielded illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children from deportation.
EB-5 visa controversy
Mayorkas was criticized in a 2015 inspector general report that found he intervened to help foreign investors in the EB-5 visa program who were connected to top Democrats.
In three EB-5 cases -- each involving high-profile Democrats -- Mayorkas intervened "outside the normal adjudicatory process" and "in ways that benefited the stakeholders," the report found.
Mayorkas defended his conduct at his confirmation hearing, saying he had been involved in a number of cases and objected to the use of the word "intervened" to describe his behavior.
He also said the program faced a number of problems and he implemented several reforms to fix what was universally acknowledged as a program in need of reform.
Praised by Trump-era DHS officials
While the Biden administration has eyed a radically different view on immigration from the Trump administration, former Bush- and Trump-era officials have praised Mayorkas, even if they disagree with some of the policies he is likely to implement.
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"I do think he's qualified," former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told ABC News. "Are his views and his policies the one that I would have picked? Probably not. But that's not to say he's not qualified, just like I'm sure he would say, my views and policies are not his liking either."
"If he leads the way he led before, he’s going to listen to both sides," former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan told The Washington Post. "Me and Ali didn’t always agree on immigration, but he listened. Ali’s a great American. He loves this country."
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