Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed as DHS Secretary, first Latino and first immigrant

The Senate confirms Alejandro Mayorkas as the seventh Secretary of DHS by a 56-43 vote, making him the first Latino and first immigrant to lead the department. Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant whose family fled as refugees in 1960, previously served as DHS Deputy Secretary and head of USCIS during the Obama administration. He led development of the DACA program. Mayorkas is sworn in on February 2, 2021, taking office in the Biden administration as the first confirmed DHS secretary since April 2019.