Mayorkas is driven by his own understanding of the immigrant experience. Republicans want him gone
Supporters of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he brings a prosecutor’s tenacity and a personal understanding of the immigrant experience in America to the job of running the sprawling agency
WASHINGTON (AP) — To his supporters, Alejandro Mayorkas is a thoughtful, driven secretary — a “Boy Scout” — who brings a prosecutor's tenacity and his personal understanding of the immigrant experience in America to running his sprawling agency. To his detractors, he personifies everything that has gone wrong at the U.S.-Mexico border and is responsible for allowing hundreds of thousands of migrants into the United States illegally in a burgeoning crisis.
Running the department was never going to be an easy job.
The agency was forged in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to bring together 22 various agencies and departments. Tom Warrick, a former top counterterrorism official at the agency who is now at the Atlantic Council, says it's the second-toughest job in Washington.
