David Rubenstein interviewed The Honorable Alejandro N. Mayorkas, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Friday, May 17.
Alejandro Mayorkas was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security by President Biden on February 2, 2021. A political refugee born in Havana, Cuba, Mayorkas is the first Latino and immigrant confirmed to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security.
During the Obama administration, he served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, where he led the development and implementation of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) and as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
Mayorkas began his government service in the Department of Justice. He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Central District of California for nearly a decade. He then became a U.S. attorney — the youngest in the country — and tried cases involving financial fraud, public corruption, and violent crime.
Mayorkas received his bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree from Loyola Law School.
