The following is a statement from Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). 

Washington, DC, November 23, 2020—Today, President-elect Joe Biden announced his historic choice to lead the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He will nominate Alejandro Mayorkas to be the Secretary of Homeland Security. Mayorkas, who was born in Cuba, will be the first immigrant and Latino to lead DHS. He will likely play a pivotal role in undoing four years of devastating harm caused to immigrant families and children by the Trump Administration’s immigration policy.  

I applaud the choice and nomination of Mayorkas as a sign of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to move forward with a new agenda that begins to heal the damage done to millions of immigrant families and children who were subjected to the xenophobic and racist tactics of DHS and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We look forward to working with Mr. Mayorkas to help return the agency to a mission of welcoming immigrants instead of creating barriers and walls to exclude them.