Washington, D.C. – In a 56-43 vote, the Senate today confirmed President Biden’s nominee, Alejandro Mayorkas, as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Sec. Mayorkas’s confirmation comes on the heels of continued mass deportations of Black and brown immigrants in the past week after a federal judge blocked President Biden’s 100-day deportation pause.
Greisa Martinez Rosas, Executive Director of United We Dream, said:
“Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has demonstrated an openness to working with directly-impacted people who are fighting to protect all immigrants. Now as head of DHS, he must once again step up to address the cruelties carried out at the hands of ICE and CBP, including recent efforts to double down on deporting Black and brown immigrants en masse.
What has been made even more evident over these past four years is that we cannot lead with detention and deportation. The dark legacy Trump leaves behind is one that has caused pain, trauma and death for millions of immigrants and their families. The Biden administration must prioritize the safety and healing of immigrant communities who have been at the forefront of Trump’s attacks.
Today, President Biden issued a slew of executive orders focused on reviewing some of Trump’s heinous anti-immigrant policies. Still, there is more work to be done to end these deadly policies. We will hold Sec. Mayorkas accountable to lead on translating President Biden’s orders and recommendations into policies that help our communities without causing more pain and trauma.
Immigrant youth have always been unapologetic about what our communities need and deserve, and we are prepared to take action to continue our fight to defund ICE and CBP. We are also fighting to expand President Biden’s pause on deportations and enforcement and pushing for a pathway to citizenship for all 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. We won’t settle for anything less.”
