[Senate Hearing 117-380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 117-380
NOMINATION OF HON. ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS
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HEARING
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON
HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
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JANUARY 19, 2021
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://govinfo.gov
Printed for the use of the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
44-583 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio, Chairman
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
RAND PAUL, Kentucky THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona
RICK SCOTT, Florida JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri
Pamela Thiessen, Staff Director
Andrew Dockham, Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director
Andrew J. Timm, Professional Staff Member
David M. Weinberg, Minority Staff Director
Zachary I. Schram, Minority Chief Counsel
Alexa E. Noruk, Minority Director of Homeland Security
Claudine J. Brenner, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Thomas J. Spino, Hearing Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Opening statements:
Page
Senator Portman.............................................. 1
Senator Peters............................................... 4
Senator Johnson.............................................. 14
Senator Carper............................................... 17
Senator Lankford............................................. 20
Senator Sinema............................................... 23
Senator Romney............................................... 25
Senator Hassan............................................... 27
Senator Scott................................................ 29
Senator Rosen................................................ 31
Senator Hawley............................................... 33
Prepared statements:
Senator Portman.............................................. 43
Senator Peters............................................... 46
Senator Feinstein............................................ 48
Senator Tester............................................... 50
WITNESSES
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Hon. Dianne Feinstein, a U.S. Senator from the State of
California..................................................... 1
Hon. Jon Tester, a U.S. Senator from the State of Montana........ 6
Hon. Alejandro N. Mayorkas to be Secretary, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security
Testimony.................................................... 7
Prepared statement........................................... 51
Biographical and professional information.................... 53
Letter from U.S. Office of Government Ethics................. 84
Responses to pre-hearing questions........................... 89
Responses to post-hearing questions.......................... 132
Letters of support........................................... 410
APPENDIX
Minors and Families chart........................................ 152
SW Border Apprehensions chart.................................... 153
DHS OIG Report................................................... 154
Johnson Grassley letter to Mayorkas.............................. 253
Peters Carper letter to Grassley................................. 391
Peter Mayorkas letter to Grassley................................ 398
Letters DHS Former Secretaries Op-Ed............................. 401
DOJ Officals statement........................................... 403
NOMINATION OF
HON. ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2021
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:05 a.m., via
Webex and in room SD-342, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon.
Rob Portman, Chairman of the Committee, presiding.
Present: Senators Portman, Johnson, Lankford, Romney,
Scott, Hawley, Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, and Rosen.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN PORTMAN\1\
Chairman Portman. The Committee will come to order.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Portman appears in the
Appendix on page 43.
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I welcome the nominee, the Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas. I
will note that the Committee has received several statements of
support for Mr. Mayorkas, including one from four former
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretaries, Democrats
and Republicans, which will be made part of the record.\2\
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\2\ The letters of support referenced by Senator Portman appears in
the Appendix on page 401.
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Before we begin, our colleague Senator Dianne Feinstein is
here this morning and has requested to introduce Mr. Mayorkas
prior to the opening statement. She has another responsibility
over at the Judiciary Committee. Senator, welcome. We look
forward to your remarks. Please begin when you are ready.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE DIANNE FEINSTEIN, A U.S.
SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Senator Feinstein. Thank you very much. Thank you. I
appreciate this very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for the
opportunity to introduce President Biden's nominee to be
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro
Mayorkas, whom we all know as ``Ali.'' Thank you, Senators
Peters and Portman, for your flexibility in accommodating my
schedule this morning. It is really appreciated.
I believe Ali is uniquely qualified to face the challenges
before DHS. He offers a diverse background and a set of
experiences in both the private and public sectors that are
going to serve him well.
Ali was born in Cuba, fled with his family to the United
States in 1960. He attended the University of California at
Berkeley, where he earned a bachelor's degree with distinction
in 1981. He earned a law degree from Loyola Law School in 1985.
I first met Ali in the 1990s when I recommended him to
President Clinton for the position of U.S. Attorney for the
Central District of California. In that role, he tried numerous
cases, from cyber crime to money laundering to immigration
fraud. Given his stellar work and his own personal story as an
immigrant from Cuba, President Obama nominated Mr. Mayorkas in
2009 to be Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS). In that role, Ali administered our
immigration laws while preserving our legacy as a Nation of
immigrants.
Ali successfully implemented the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA). This program played a critical role
and remains critical for hundreds of thousands of young people
in this country.
After 4 years at USCIS, he was confirmed in 2013 to be
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, where he faced a broad
array of challenges. He led the DHS response to the Ebola and
Zika epidemics, oversaw the agency's effort to combat
terrorism, and enhanced our border security. He also worked to
facilitate trade and travel and enforced our immigration laws.
Critically, given the threats we face today, he also oversaw
and coordinated the government's efforts at cybersecurity.
Mr. Chairman, the United States faces substantial security
concerns and threats, and I just would like this Committee to
know that this Senator has full confidence that Ali Mayorkas
will provide positive leadership and strongly urge this
Committee to support his nomination.
I thank you once again for your accommodations, and I would
ask to be excused because I have another Committee to attend.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Feinstein. We
appreciate your introduction, and we will now deal with the
opening statements, and then we will have the Committee hear
from Mr. Mayorkas.
Given the homeland security threats we face as a country,
as Senator Feinstein just talked about, including the current
increased threat level here in our Nation's capital that all of
us experienced as we came to the Capitol this morning, having
the right person to lead the Department of Homeland Security
could not be more important.
This Committee worked to create the Department of Homeland
Security following the horrific events of September 11, 2001
(9/11). At the time we were mainly concerned with foreign
threats coming from outside of our country's borders. As we sit
here today, with the Capitol complex surrounded by fencing and
thousands of members of the National Guard all around us, the
threats the Department is being tasked to protect us from are
very different.
While foreign threat actors remain a concern, the attack on
the Capitol on January 6th was an assault on our democracy
itself, in my view. Of course, it was a domestic attack.
Twenty years ago, such a threat was unimaginable. I think
also unimaginable are the new ways foreign actors are breaching
and accessing our sensitive government networks. The SolarWinds
cybersecurity breach appears to be the first time a foreign
actor, likely Russia, has had unfettered access to the daily
workings of important Federal agencies. This includes, by the
way, the Department of Homeland Security, the very agency
tasked with keeping the Federal Government's networks secure.
At the same time, our country still struggles with threats
posed by illicit drugs like fentanyl, which Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) reports has shifted from entering our
communities from China through the U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
to increasingly coming across our southern land border, all
while our country is gripped by the coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19) pandemic that has now infected over 23 million
Americans.
The economic impact of the pandemic has also increased the
risks of vulnerable populations being subject to human
trafficking, another DHS focus. All of us have seen reports of
another caravan making its way north from Central America.
Recently, the Department has struggled due to a lack of
Senate-confirmed leadership, really since April 2019. Having
the right person at the helm at DHS could not be more
important. That person must be a strong leader with utmost
integrity. Today we consider Mr. Mayorkas for that post.
This is not the first time Mr. Mayorkas has been before
this Committee as a nominee. In July 2013, this Committee
considered his nomination to be Deputy Secretary of DHS while
he was under investigation by the Inspector General (IG) for
exerting improper influence in the EB-5 Investor Visa process
in his role as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services. As a result, Mr. Mayorkas' nomination was reported
out of this Committee on a strict party-line vote, with no
Republican support. He was later confirmed by the Senate in the
same way, party line, with no Republican support.
Today we have the findings of that Inspector General
report, and they are concerning. The DHS Inspector General
found that in three matters in the EB-5 program, and I quote,
``Mr. Mayorkas communicated with stakeholders on substantive
issues outside of the normal adjudicatory process and
intervened with career USCIS staff in ways that benefited the
stakeholders. In each of these three instances, but for Mr.
Mayorkas' intervention, the matter would have been decided
differently.''
Further, the IG found, and again I quote, ``The
juxtaposition of Mr. Mayorkas' communication with external
stakeholders on specific matters outside the normal procedures
coupled with favorable action that deviated from the regulatory
scheme, designed to ensure fairness and evenhandedness in
adjudicating benefits, created an appearance of favoritism and
special access.'' That is from the IG.
The stakeholders who received the benefit of this special
access are familiar names: former Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, Ed Rendell, Terry McAuliffe, and Anthony Rodham. The
projects included financing for a Las Vegas hotel and casino,
Hollywood film studios, and an electric car manufacturing
company.
Equally concerning is the testimony from DHS whistleblowers
regarding Mr. Mayorkas' management style. One witness stated
that encounters with Mr. Mayorkas were ``uncomfortable,
aggressive, unusual, and unsettling.'' A high-ranking USCIS
official told the IG that employees were afraid to speak up in
meetings because they had a different view, that Mr. Mayorkas
would, and I quote, ``cut them up, take them apart, or put them
in their place.''
In fact, the Inspector General noted the number and variety
of witnesses that came forward was unusual. The individuals who
raised these concerns were ``throughout the ranks of USCIS in
different locations engaged in different functions with
different experience levels.''
Mr. Mayorkas, I know from our conversations that you
strongly disagree with this report. In preparing for this
hearing, I reached out to John Roth, the former DHS Inspector
General responsible for the report. It is worth noting that Mr.
Roth was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the
Senate unanimously. Mr. Roth told me the report holds up today
and he continues to stand behind it.
Mr. Mayorkas, I believe it is important that you are given
the opportunity to address the findings of the report, and you
will have that opportunity today. As you know, this Committee
strongly believes in the importance of the work of the
Inspector General community. In fact, Members of this
Committee--Senator Peters, Senator Carper, Senator Lankford,
Senator Romney, and I--introduced the Securing Inspector
General Independence Act last Congress in response to
concerning actions taken by the Trump administration. I hope
this Committee takes up that legislation in this new Congress.
At this hearing, it is also important that we talk about
your plans for securing the country from existing threats as
well as those we have not yet imagined, should you be
confirmed. You and I have had a good conversation about those
challenges as well, and I look forward to that dialog.
But, ultimately, I believe this hearing is about ensuring
strong, effective, and ethical leadership of the critically
important and sprawling Department of Homeland Security, now
the third largest agency of the Federal Government. Leadership
is required.
I now turn to Senator Peters for his opening statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR PETERS\1\
Senator Peters. Thank you first off, Senator Portman and
Senator Johnson, for convening today's hearing. I certainly do
appreciate that. Our Nation is facing serious threats and
challenges at an unprecedented level now, and I appreciate your
willingness to work in a bipartisan way to ensure that we can
swiftly consider this important national security nomination.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Senator Peters appears in the
Appendix on page 46.
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I am looking forward to working with you, Senator Portman,
to continue this Committee's longstanding tradition of
bipartisanship, strengthening our Nation's security, and
helping to ensure that the government is working effectively
for the American people.
I am also grateful for Alejandro Mayorkas and his family
for joining us here today as we consider your nomination to be
the Secretary of Homeland Security, and I thank you for your
willingness to serve our country again. It certainly was an
honor and privilege to meet your family before the hearing. As
we talked about prior to the hearing, taking such an important
job is a family affair, and it requires the support of a loving
family. I know you are blessed to have that.
Mr. Mayorkas, once confirmed, you will have a daunting job
before you, but you are a qualified and an experienced leader,
and I look forward to hearing more about your plans to
safeguard our national security today.
There is no question we need strong and we need stable
leadership in the Department of Homeland Security more than
ever. Over the last 4 years, the Department has endured some
chaos, mismanagement, and instability. As our third largest
Federal agency with more than 240,000 employees, DHS is in
desperate need of principled leadership.
The turmoil and uncertainty at DHS headquarters has only
been compounded by the growing security threats that are facing
our Nation. In recent weeks, we saw a widespread cyber breach
of our Federal Government and a terrible attack on the Capitol
building, all while we continue to battle a raging pandemic
that is taking the lives of thousands of Americans. Whether it
is bolstering cybersecurity, combating the rise of domestic
terrorism, including white
supremacist and anti-government violence, controlling the
coronavirus pandemic, or tackling longer-term threats like
climate change, our Nation needs an experienced Homeland
Security Secretary.
Mr. Mayorkas, your record as a national security official
is extensive. You have the support of former Homeland Security
Secretaries and law enforcement organizations, including the
Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). You have also been entrusted
to help lead the Department before and have been confirmed by
the Senate three times. In those roles, you led efforts to
protect the homeland from both foreign and domestic terrorism,
strengthening our Nation's cybersecurity, and increased
cooperation between the Federal Government and local law
enforcement agencies. Your role as the Deputy Secretary gives
you very unique qualifications to take the reins of this
extensive agency.
Today's hearing is an important opportunity for me and my
colleagues to ask questions about your record, and I look
forward to hearing more about how you plan to lead the
Department. We have recently lived through some of our Nation's
darkest moments, but I am confident there is light and hope all
across the country.
Our Committee must work thoroughly and quickly to fully
evaluate your credentials and then put in place Senate-
confirmed leadership at the top of the Department of Homeland
Security.
Thank you again for your willingness to serve and for being
with us here today. I look forward to having a comprehensive
discussion about how all of us can work together to address the
serious and pressing issues facing our Nation and your efforts
to help strengthen our national security in the years ahead.
Mr. Chairman, as testament to the confidence of many around
the country, I have here a number of statements in support of
Mr. Mayorkas from law enforcement, faith, nonprofit, labor,
humanitarian, and fire community organizations, so, without
objection, I would like to enter these 25 statements into the
record.\1\
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\1\ The letters of support referenced by Senator Peters appear in
the Appendix on page 410.
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Chairman Portman. Without objection.
Before we hear from Mr. Mayorkas, I understand we have a
second introduction of Mr. Mayorkas, this one from Senator Jon
Tester, who will do so virtually.
OPENING STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JON TESTER, A U.S. SENATOR
FROM THE STATE OF MONTANA
Senator Tester. Senator Portman, it is indeed a pleasure
for me to be here in front of you and the Homeland Security
Committee to introduce my friend Ali Mayorkas.
Ali is President Biden's choice to head up the Department
of Homeland Security. I do not need to tell the people on this
Committee how big of a job this is, but you need to have
somebody that is up to the task to get it done. Ali Mayorkas is
that man.
I worked with Ali when he was Deputy Secretary under the
Obama Administration. I was able to bring him to Montana. We
were able to tour the border. We were able to do public
meetings. Ali Mayorkas is somebody who people respect. He
demands respect and he can bring people together. But, most
importantly, he understands the challenges that this country
faces, both from our foreign adversaries and now more than ever
from our domestic ones.
This job is important. We have seen this Department in
turmoil over the last 4 years, with six different Secretaries.
Ali Mayorkas will bring the kind of steady hand that this
Department needs.
I want to tell you, when Ali asked me to introduce him, I
thought to myself, ``Words cannot do this man justice.'' This
is somebody that was made for public service. He has spent most
of his career in the Department of Homeland Security. He
understands the challenges. He understands it is going to take
a lot of work. He understands we are going to have to bring
people together. He understands that this is a 24/7 job.
I would hope that this Committee would kick out Ali
Mayorkas--``pass him out,'' a better term--pass him out and get
him to the Senate floor so he can get confirmed because,
honestly, after the events on January 6th, we have no time to
waste.
Thank you for your time.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Tester.
Our witness this morning is Alejandro Mayorkas. President-
elect Biden plans to nominate Mr. Mayorkas to be Secretary of
the Department of Homeland Security. Mr. Mayorkas previously
served as the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security as well as the Director of U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services.
It is the custom of this Committee, Mr. Mayorkas, to swear
in all the witnesses, so at this time I would ask you to please
stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear that the
testimony you will give before this Committee will be the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you,
God?
Mr. Mayorkas. I do.
Chairman Portman. Noting that the witness has answered in
the affirmative, your written testimony, Mr. Mayorkas, will be
printed in the record in its entirety, and we would now ask you
to try to limit your oral testimony to 5 minutes. Please begin
when you are ready.
TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS,\1\ NOMINEE TO
BE SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Mayorkas. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member,
Members of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee (HSGAC). I am honored to appear before you as the
nominee to be the next Secretary of the United States
Department of Homeland Security. It would be the greatest
privilege of my life to return to the Department and lead the
nearly 240,000 men and women who dedicate their talent and
energy to the safety and security of our Nation.
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\1\ The prepared statement of Mr. Mayorkas appears in the Appendix
on page 51.
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I appear before you not alone, but with and because of my
family. My wife, Tanya, and our beautiful daughters, Giselle
and Mimi, enable and inspire me to serve. They understand that
my heart is in government service. They are the heart of my
heart, and I say to them, ``I love you.''
The principles of homeland and security have been
tremendously important in shaping my life.
My father and mother brought me to this country to escape
communism and to provide me with the security, opportunity, and
pride that American citizenship brings to each of us. I was
raised to appreciate each day what this country has meant for
our family and the blessing it is to know it as our homeland.
The love for this country that I learned from my parents
only made the January 6th attack on our Capitol all the more
horrifying. If I should have the honor of being confirmed, I
will do everything I can to ensure that the tragic loss of
life, the assault on law enforcement, the desecration of the
building that stands as one of the three pillars of our
democracy, and the terror that you felt, your colleagues,
staff, and everyone present, will not happen again.
The Department of Homeland Security bears an extraordinary
weight on behalf of the American people--the weight of grave
challenges, seen and unseen: cyber attacks that undermine our
security and the integrity of our information systems; the
threat of both foreign and domestic terrorism; pandemics like
the one that we are living through now that throw every part of
American life off of its axis; and extreme weather events that
threaten lives and livelihoods.
This is to say nothing of maintaining border security,
providing humanitarian relief, protecting our critical
infrastructure, or the many other responsibilities that the
Department fulfills each and every day.
If I have the privilege of serving as Secretary, I will
work day and night to support the Department's great workforce
and ensure that it is able to execute its responsibilities
successfully, with honor and dignity. I will dedicate myself to
equipping the Department's men and women with the tools and
resources they need and providing them with the opportunities
they deserve. I will do so in partnership with you and with the
other Members of Congress, and with the Department's many other
critical partners throughout our country.
The Department of Homeland Security is, fundamentally, a
department of partnerships. To combat the threat of terrorism,
the Department must work with our international partners, other
Federal agencies, State, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT)
governments, and our Nation's noble first responders.
To enhance our cybersecurity, the Department depends upon
and must strengthen its cooperation with the private sector. To
be prepared for and resilient to natural disasters, the
Department must work with State, local, tribal, and territorial
governments and our brave local fire and emergency personnel.
To facilitate and enhance our travel and trade, it must
innovate and align its research and development (R&D) with the
efforts of private industry and academic institutions. To meet
the challenges and the opportunities of migration, it needs to
collaborate with other nations, international organizations,
and nonprofit service providers. To succeed, the Department
must work with the many communities it serves.
This Committee and your colleagues in the Senate and the
House of Representatives are at the forefront of the
Department's partners. We must work closely with you as you
help determine the funding upon which the Department relies,
promulgate the laws that it is charged to enforce, and provide
the oversight that ensures its accountability to the American
people. As your partner, the Department must be collaborative,
open and transparent, and at all times forthright with you--
even in times of disagreement. If I am confirmed as the next
Secretary, the Department will meet its responsibilities to
you.
I began in government service as a Federal prosecutor.
After more than 8 years of trying cases before juries, I served
for 3 years as a Senate-confirmed United States Attorney. As a
prosecutor, the law and the facts of a case were my foundation
and my guide, and they have remained my North Star ever since.
I have worked in support of Federal agents and officers, local
law enforcement, firefighters, and emergency medical
technicians. I have worked in support of all the men and women
throughout the Department of Homeland Security and in public
service who work in, and even rush into, harm's way to protect
us all. I have not for a single moment lost sight of what a
privilege and honor it is to do so, nor of the obligations it
carries on our Nation's behalf. I look forward to continuing
that service.
Thank you.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas.
We will now have 7-minute rounds, and my pattern is
normally as a Chair to go straight to others, because we have a
good mix of Republicans and Democrats who are lined up to
speak, but there are some things that I think are important to
address, so I am going to take some time here at the beginning
as well.
Before we get started, there are three questions the
Committee asks of every nominee, and for the record, let me
just ask you to respond to each one quickly.
First, is there anything you are aware of in your
background that might present a conflict of interest with the
duties of the office to which you have been nominated?
Mr. Mayorkas. No.
Chairman Portman. Second, do you know of anything, personal
or otherwise, that would in any way prevent you from fully and
honorably discharging the responsibilities of the office to
which you have been nominated?
Mr. Mayorkas. No.
Chairman Portman. Finally, do you agree without reservation
to comply with any request or summons to appear and testify
before any duly constituted committee of Congress if you are
confirmed?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes.
Chairman Portman. Thank you for those answers.
Again, there is a lot to discuss today, and I look forward
to a dialogue on some of the homeland security challenges we
face and your proposals to deal with those. But let us go
straight to the issues raised by the DHS Inspector General's
report on decisions you made during the time you were Director
of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The report documented how you intervened in these three
cases related to the EB-5 Investor Visa Program. This is where
people are given a visa with the understanding that they will
come and invest in the United States and create jobs.
A few specific questions. The Inspector General in the case
of LA Film's Regional Center involving Ed Rendell stated that
you, and I quote, ``created a `deference review board' staffed
with individuals [you] handpicked, to review a separate series
of Time Warner movie projects. This board did not previously
exist and was never used again after it voted to reverse the
adjudicators' proposed denials. Remarkably, there is no record
of the proceedings of this board.''
Now, that is from the IG report. First, is that accurate?
Second, how do you explain that there is no record of the
proceedings of the board?
Mr. Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity
to answer your question and address that aspect of the
Inspector General's report. I should say at the outset, Mr.
Chairman, that I have tremendous respect for the system of
Inspectors General. They provide tremendous value to the
agencies and departments throughout the Federal Government and
the opportunity for leaders to improve the organizations that
they oversee. I have always cooperated with the Inspector
General's report, including this Inspector General at the
Department of Homeland Security.
Senator, there is an underlying principle to your question
which I will articulate and then answer your question
specifically, and that is that when a leader enters Federal
service with the authority to fix problems, that leader has the
responsibility to fix problems, and that is what I did. The EB-
5 Investor Visa Program that USCIS administered was plagued by
problems. I heard about those problems almost every single day
that I served as the Director, and I heard about them from both
sides of the aisle and every corner of the business community
that the agency served. One of those problems was a very
significant one, which was when the agency made a decision in
an EB-5 Investor Visa case and millions and millions of dollars
of investor capital and the creation of jobs for U.S. workers
was dependent upon that decision, was it fair for the agency to
later in the adjudicative process change its mind and kill the
business development that was designed to infuse capital into
economically disadvantaged areas and create jobs for Americans?
I created the deference review board as but one fix to the
many problems that we encountered in that agency, and that fix
was an institutional reform that was supposed to endure
throughout the life of the EB-5 program office that I created.
When I read the Inspector General's report, that was the first
time that I learned that the deference review board had not
been gathered together after the case that you mentioned and
the fact that during the case that you mentioned a record had
not been kept. If I had remained the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services rather than having assumed
the responsibilities of becoming the Deputy Secretary of
Homeland Security, I would have ensured that the deference
review board continued and its proper recordkeeping practices
were adhered to.
Chairman Portman. OK. As Deputy Secretary, didn't you have
the opportunity to do exactly that, to be able to ensure that
in a management role as Deputy Secretary the visa program was
working and the deference review board was properly
functioning?
Mr. Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, when I became the Deputy
Secretary of Homeland Security, we instituted reforms in
response to the Inspector General's report to ensure that the
integrity and the ethics of our leaders were well understood by
the workforce and the public that we serve. I delegated
responsibility to the management of the EB-5 program to the new
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that led
it.
Chairman Portman. The DHS IG report also explains how you
intervened in a denial related to Gulf Coast Regional Center
where Terry McAuliffe was chairman of the board and Anthony
Rodham, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's brother,
was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The report documents how
both men contacted you about the denial. The report States that
you personally reviewed the denial decision before it was
issued, disagreed with its finding, and indicated you would
rewrite the decision yourself. Witnesses testified all these
actions were outside the normal adjudicatory process.
One, is this accurate? Two, if so, why did you go outside
the normal course?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, let me share, if I may, something
with you about the EB-5 Investor Visa Program and the agency of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The USCIS is an
agency that adjudicates cases. That is what it does. It
addresses the applications for immigration benefits that
millions and millions of people submit to it each and every
day. When I had the authority and, therefore, the
responsibility to fix problems, I fixed problems through the
cases that the agency handled.
The cases that you have mentioned and the three cases that
are cited in the Inspector General's report are three of
hundreds and hundreds of cases that I became involved in at the
request of Senators and Members of the House of Representatives
on both sides of the aisle. And I do, I must say, Senator, take
issue with the use of the term ``intervene.'' It is my job to
become involved, to learn the problems that an agency
confronts, to become involved in those problems, and to fix
them. That is what I did in this case and the many cases that
came before me that were presented to me on both sides of the
aisle. I find it my responsibility to be responsive to Members
of Congress on a bipartisan basis, and I commit to you that I
will honor that obligation should I be confirmed as the next
Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Chairman Portman. A final question. What did you learn--
these were politically connected individuals where you were in
direct contact with them going around the typical adjudicatory
process. Did you have concerns that your actions might be
viewed as favoritism and special access? What did you learn
that helped you as the Deputy Secretary and would help you
should you be confirmed as Secretary?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I learned something very important
from this report, and it is for that reason that I am grateful
for it. I should say that as an individual, both in my personal
life and my professional life, and I learn each and every day
to be better tomorrow than I am today. That is a commitment
that I carry forward throughout my life. I learned that
individuals in the EB-5 Investor Visa Program, therefore, in
the agency, may not have full visibility of all that I am
involved in and all which I do as a leader; and, therefore,
they may take a slice of my action and gather misperceptions of
what fuels me as a leader and what drives me as a government
servant, because if I may, Senator, these were not the only
three cases I was involved in. There were dozens and dozens.
Whether they involved the rich or the poor, the enfranchised or
the disenfranchised, I became involved to ensure that our
agency improved each day, that I learned of the problems that
we were confronted with, and that I did everything to fix them.
I do not take these jobs, Senator, I do not drive to be a
government servant and serve the American public to cut ribbons
around the country and have fun. I work really hard, and I have
worked really hard throughout my nearly 20 years of government
service to bring honor to the office that I have been
privileged to occupy.
Chairman Portman. Thank you. Senator Peters.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayorkas,
thank you again for your answers to those questions.
Mr. Mayorkas, the COVID-19 pandemic is without question the
crisis of our time, and we must dedicate every effort to
overcoming it. DHS has played an integral role in the COVID-19
response thus far, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) staff managing the logistics and the medical supply
acquisition and distribution. CBP officers have been
identifying counterfeit medical products, and Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is safeguarding COVID-19
vaccines from both physical and cyber attacks. However, as you
are well aware, there is still much more work to be done.
So my question to you, sir, is: If confirmed, what would be
your priorities to ensure the expansive resources of the
Department can further advance our Nation's response to the
COVID-19 crisis?
Mr. Mayorkas. Ranking Member Peters, the COVID-19 pandemic
is one of the greatest challenges that we in the Department of
Homeland Security and across the Federal Government and, quite
frankly, as we all know too well, throughout our entire Nation
must confront. The Department of Homeland Security has
significant capabilities to bring to bear in that fight, in
execution of the President-elect's ambitious and visionary
vision for putting this pandemic once and for all behind us.
The Federal Emergency Management Administration has
tremendous reach through its ten regional offices throughout
the country in ensuring that the supply chain is effectively
executed to bring the needed relief, the needed equipment, and
the needed vaccines to the American public.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has
the awesome responsibility of protecting that supply chain from
cyber attacks and ensuring that the work of the other offices
and agencies in the Department of Homeland Security are
executed without threat from either foreign or domestic actors.
The reach of the Department is significant, and I hope I have
the privilege of leading the Department to bring this COVID-19
challenge to rest, put it behind us, and let us prosper in the
days ahead.
Senator Peters. Mr. Mayorkas, this Committee in the days,
weeks, and months ahead will take a look at how we responded to
this crisis, to see what worked and what did not work, and then
make sure that we are better prepared for a future crisis.
My question to you generally now is: In your opinion, and
seeing how the Department has responded to this crisis, what do
you think are some of the biggest lessons that were learned
from the pandemic response?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, let me say that I look forward to
studying the performance of the Department of Homeland Security
and the execution of its responsibilities to tackle the COVID-
19 pandemic, and I look forward to doing so by working closely
with you, with this Committee, on a bipartisan basis.
I look forward to understanding whether the mandate to the
Department of Homeland Security remained consistent, clear, and
well defined throughout the many months that we have been
battling COVID-19, to make sure that the Department's resources
have been exploited to the fullest extent possible in the best
meaning of that term, and that, in fact, its responsibilities
were executed efficiently and effectively.
I look forward to working with this Committee to study how
the Department performed and what more it can do in battling
the pandemic.
Senator Peters. I am happy to hear that because there is no
question that the oversight of the government's response to the
COVID crisis is going to be a top priority of this Committee
going forward. My question to you is: If confirmed, will you
commit to providing this Committee with all the documents,
information, and access to individuals with knowledge as we
conduct this critical oversight?
Mr. Mayorkas. I do.
Senator Peters. Mr. Mayorkas, I have far too often met with
resistance in my attempt to conduct an investigation into the
threats of white supremacists and domestic terrorists in our
communities. The Trump administration did not do an adequate
job in addressing this very real threat, a threat that we saw
played out in black churches, mosques, and synagogues over the
last few years.
I can tell you that African-American, Arab-American, and
Jewish families in Michigan as well as all across the country
are relying on this new administration to keep them safe where
they live, work, and pray.
If confirmed, what steps will you take to tackle this
persistent and growing threat to our Nation?
Mr. Mayorkas. Ranking Member Peters, two very important
points.
One, I commit to you that, if I am confirmed as the next
Secretary of Homeland Security, the Department will be open,
transparent, and responsive to this Committee on a bipartisan
basis, number one.
No. 2, the threat of domestic extremism is one of the
greatest challenges that the Department of Homeland Security
confronts, and it has unique capabilities in confronting that
challenge. Its Office of Intelligence and Analysis (OIA) is a
critical partner with State, local, tribal, and territorial
governments in gathering information and intelligence about the
threat that we face here at home and disseminating that
information so that our brave and noble first responders are
best equipped to tackle it.
I look forward to playing a critical role in empowering the
Office of Intelligence and Analysis in an apolitical,
nonpartisan way to do its important job and tackle the threat
that domestic extremism is today.
Senator Peters. Mr. Mayorkas, the events of January 6th
have renewed calls for increased prosecutorial and
investigative powers to respond to domestic terrorism.
Additional powers could be duplicative and harmful to the very
communities that we seek to protect, including nearly 300,000
Arab Americans in my State that have been targets of hate
crimes and discriminatory counterterrorism policies.
The Federal Government already has authorities to
effectively investigate and prosecute domestic terrorism, but,
unfortunately, it has failed to prioritize those existing
resources to counter the obvious, the open, and growing threat
from anti-government white supremacist, conspiracy-oriented,
and other violent extremist groups.
My question to you is: Will you commit today to
prioritizing existing statutes and resources to combat white
supremacist violence and undertake the extensive consultation
with me and leaders of the Arab-American and other minority
communities before pursuing new domestic terrorism authorities
to prevent future attacks, if confirmed?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, Ranking Member Peters, I will.
Senator Peters. Thank you.
Mr. Mayorkas. I should say, if I may, sir, that when I was
United States Attorney for the Central District of California,
I created for the first time in the office's history a civil
rights section to focus on the prosecution of hate crimes,
which was a growing problem back in the late 1990s.
Chairman Portman. Senator Johnson.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHNSON
Senator Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayorkas,
welcome back.
In the 6 years under my chairmanship, this Committee held
dozens, I think well over three dozen hearings on the problems
at the border, and that was really sparked by what happened in
2014 when President Obama declared a humanitarian crisis when
we had the surge of unaccompanied children as well as family
units come across the border illegally.
One of the things I certainly did--and I did not have time
to blow these things up, but I started developing charts to
kind of lay out the problem. What I would like to do is quick
go through a little bit and get some quick responses from you
in terms of the history of this.
I know Senator Feinstein credited you with the DACA
program. I have been arguing, I think accurately, that the DACA
program, as beneficial as it is for people and addresses a
particular problem, also was used as a catalyst by coyotes and
created the surge that produced that 2014 humanitarian crisis
where 137,000 people in total, unaccompanied children and
family units, crossed the border illegally, and we had to deal
with that. The Obama Administration recognized that, and you
were Deputy Secretary at that point in time. Just a quick
answer to these questions.
In reaction to that, it is true that the Obama
Administration built the facility in McAllen, Texas. Correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, sir.
Senator Johnson. That is the same facility that has the
chain-link fences that people on the other side of the aisle
have referred to as ``putting children in cages.'' Correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, sir.
Senator Johnson. You started that detention process because
you recognized this is a problem. So you started detaining
those families and those unaccompanied children. Correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, the detention establishment in U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) existed long before
I----
Senator Johnson. But you detained individuals. Correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. We detained individuals as part of the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.
Senator Johnson. Precisely. You also separated children
from the adults that they arrived here. Correct? There were
children separated from parents back in 2014. Correct? Yes or
no.
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Johnson, when I was the Deputy
Secretary of Homeland Security, I explicitly rejected the
proposal to separate families.
Senator Johnson. But it occurred. Correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I cannot speak to that----
Senator Johnson. OK.
Mr. Mayorkas [continuing]. I would look forward----
Senator Johnson. Regardless, the enforcement actions of the
Obama Administration took actually had an impact. We went from
137,000 down to 80,000 in 2015. But then a court reinterpreted
the Flores decision and included accompanied children for those
same protections. You can take a look at the result. It took a
little while for people to realize how they could exploit that
problem, to the point in 2019 we had 608,000 people coming to
this country illegally, basically apprehended and then released
and dispersed through this country. That was a real problem.
This administration addressed it with the Migrant Protection
Protocol (MPP) program, different agreements with Central
America, and we dramatically saw a decrease in the amount of
people coming in here, risking their lives in a very dangerous
journey. We saw a dramatic decrease, well before COVID.
Another chart we have is average daily entries, illegal
entries per month. You can see we hit a high, a peak, in May
2019. Again, this was when the administration, this current
administration, started implementing solutions to the problem.
By and large, we dramatically decreased that.
What has been happening over the last few months is we have
had a dramatic increase now in terms of single adults coming
here, and we see a 9,000-person caravan coming from Honduras,
and they are very open in terms of why they are doing it:
because President-elect Biden has stated in the debates that we
are not going to deport anybody in the first 100 days, so they
are going to take advantage of that opportunity.
I guess my question for you is: Secretary Johnson, who you
served under, said that 1,000 people per day was a bad day. We
have been consistently over 2,000 a day for the last number of
years, over 4,000 a day in March 2019. Right now we are back
over 2,000 per day. Do you consider that a problem? What is
going to be a bad day if you are Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security of illegal entry?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Johnson, I have had the privilege of
addressing these issues with you before when I served as the
Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and, candidly, of course,
several weeks ago when I became the nominee to be the next
Secretary of Homeland Security. I look forward to studying the
data with you and actually being open and transparent with you
and----
Senator Johnson. OK. But, again, will 1,000 a day be a bad
day? Or is 2,000 acceptable? Is 3,000 acceptable? What is going
to be a bad day on your watch?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator----
Senator Johnson. Just pick a number.
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I look forward to----
Senator Johnson. OK. I do not have time for--OK. So next
question. Do you believe coming into this country illegally for
economic improvement, is that a valid asylum claim?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, the asylum laws are well
established, and they provide that an individual who is fleeing
persecution by reason of his or her member in a particular
social group is deserving of protection----
Senator Johnson. OK, but coming here for economic gain is
not a valid asylum claim. Would you agree with that?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I believe I articulated the legal
theory, and----
Senator Johnson. OK. Will you commit to provide this
Senator and this Committee the type of data, at least the data
we got, so I can continue to monitor what is happening at the
border, so I have full information, so we can really see what
is happening based on whatever policies you implement?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes. I committed to you that I would do so
when we last spoke, and I commit to you now.
Senator Johnson. Do you also commit to enforcing our
current immigration laws?
Mr. Mayorkas. I do.
Senator Johnson. Fully enforcing them. OK. Just real quick,
I know Senator Portman did a pretty good job of talking about
the EB-5 and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) report. I
would ask this Committee--I received a letter from Senator
Grassley with about 138 pages of documentation. I would ask
that that be entered into the record.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The information submitted by Senator Grassley appears in the
Appendix on page 253.
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Chairman Portman. Without objection.
Senator Johnson. I would also ask that the report by the
Office of Inspector General be entered in the record.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ The Office of Inspector General report appears in the Appendix
on page 154.
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I just have a couple quick questions. I am assuming you got
that letter from Senator Grassley dated January 15, 2021?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, Senator.
Senator Johnson. Have you responded to that?
Mr. Mayorkas. I am about to, Senator.
Senator Johnson. Again, there is a lot of detail in here. A
lot of your testimony was contradicted by what you have done.
You said you are supportive of transparent and being forthright
with this Committee. Senator Grassley in a letter as one of the
attachments, August 23, 2013, his main issue in writing that
letter to you is you have not been forthright, you have not
answered questions dating back to his oversight letters of
2013. But one of the points he makes in this August 23, 2013,
letter is the questions for the record response is in direct
contradiction of hearing testimony. He goes on to say, ``This
contradicted what you had previously told my staff, which was
that you were never involved in individual cases.''
So, again, I would just ask Members of this Committee, in
evaluating this nomination, to seriously take a look at this
letter from Senator Grassley with his exhibits that I have now
entered into the record. There are some pretty troubling issues
raised by Senator Grassley.
I do not know if you want to quick respond to that. I am
out of time.
Mr. Mayorkas. I would very much like to, if I may, Senator.
Mr. Chairman, may I respond to that?
Chairman Portman. Yes.
Mr. Mayorkas. I became involved in a lot of cases because,
as I said, the work of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services is casework, and I did my job. I learned of problems,
and I fixed them.
As a matter of fact, one of the areas in which I became
very involved is in the area of international adoptions, and I
learned of that area and I learned of the problems that
afflicted it because Senator Grassley brought a case to my
attention involving an international adoption that had become
stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare. I jumped in, and I learned
about what was going on in our international adoption system at
the request of Senator Grassley. I learned a lot from becoming
involved in that case.
And then Senator Grassley's concerns were echoed by Senator
Landrieu, who called me one day and said that we are stuck in
moving orphan children in Guatemala to their welcoming homes
and families in the United States. I created a task force to
look into that and to tackle it, and I traveled to Guatemala
three times to see what I could do with government leaders in
that country to work through the bureaucratic nightmare that
was causing tremendous suffering on the behalf of children who
were looking for homes and the humble, faithful American
families that had opened their homes and their families to
those children that did not have anything.
I became involved in those cases, and I fixed that problem.
The international adoptions from Guatemala began to move, and I
brought justice to the case that Senator Grassley presented to
me. I did so based on the facts and the law and nothing more. I
keep to this day the letter of thanks from Senator Grassley for
my involvement in that case.
I remember with great pride my attendance at an affair with
Senator Grassley and Senator Landrieu to celebrate the humble
and faithful American families that opened their homes to
children in need. I have to this day a photograph of an orphan
child running through an airport with a big smile on his face
because he is about to be embraced by his American family that
has opened their home to him. That is not the case of the rich
and the powerful. That is the case of the poor and the
disenfranchised.
I got involved in a lot of cases, and I did right by the
cases I got involved in, and the Inspector General did not take
issue with the disposition of the cases in which I became
involved, because I studied the law and I followed the facts,
and that is my North Star, and it always has been. Any
suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.
Chairman Portman. Senator Carper.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CARPER
Senator Carper. Thanks, Mr. Chairman. Ali, welcome. Welcome
back to a hearing before our Committee. I want to thank your
wife, Tanya, and I want to thank your daughters, Giselle and
Mimi, for their willingness to share you with the American
people in all these roles you have been privileged to play.
Ali Mayorkas is an American success story. He fled Cuba at
a young age with his family, left everything, came here for the
hope of living a better life. He is one of those people who
feels that given the gifts that he has gotten from becoming a
citizen of this country, he has an obligation to give back. He
has given back again and again and again.
We have seen this movie before. This EB-5 movie, we have
seen it before. We saw it 7 years ago. It was fully discussed
and fully litigated.
Let me just say every one of us as a United States Senator
can think of a time, probably many times, when folks that we
represented--it could have been business people, it could have
been folks at nonprofit organizations, it could be Governors--
they were lost in a bureaucratic tangle. This is a big
government we have. It is easy to get things messed up, and
sometimes that happens. We are expected, as the representatives
from our States, to stand up for people and try to straighten
things out. As much, if anything, that is what Ali has been
accused of all those years ago.
I just want to say this: Most of the folks that are on our
Committee today were not in the Senate in 2013, I do not think.
I was Chairman of this Committee, and I remember very well the
effort to smear this man's character based on a 2013 Inspector
General investigation which was leaked to the press a day
before his confirmation hearing. A day before his confirmation
hearing, a serious violation of IG protocol.
Following that, the claims were fully investigated by a
subsequent Inspector General, and Mr. Mayorkas was found to be
guilty of one thing, and that is, creating an appearance of
favoritism. If we were to be honest with one another, every
single Member of this Committee and in the Senate could be
accused of the same thing at one time or another, for trying to
do really the right thing.
What is more, the IG who initiated this investigation and
who was responsible for the original leaks in 2013 resigned
later that year, resigned under allegations of misconduct. He
was charged last year with fraud. If anyone still has any
doubts, then they should read the final IG report, including
Mr. Mayorkas' 32-page response for themselves. To allow these
unfounded allegations to cloud Ali Mayorkas' unblemished career
in public service at a time when this Department so critically
needs principled leadership, capable leadership, I think is
irresponsible at best and dangerous at worst.
Mr. Mayorkas, everything I do I know I could do better, and
I am ready to just ask you to talk to us about what you did to
improve the morale of the workforce that the Department of
Homeland Security, and especially USCIS, what did you do to
improve it? And did it ever improve under your leadership?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Carper, thank you very much. I was
very proud of the fact that the employee morale at U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services improved under my
leadership, and that the morale of the men and women of the
Department of Homeland Security improved during my tenure as
the Deputy Secretary and under Secretary Johnson's leadership.
I prioritized the morale of the men and women of the
Department of Homeland Security and the agency that I led in
the first term of the prior administration. We are focused on
equipping the work with the tools they needed to perform their
jobs ably and in a manner which they could be proud of. We
created opportunities for them to advance in their careers and
fulfill their highest ambitions.
I can be granular in some of the recommendations and some
of the fixes that we implemented, but let me just speak to the
fact that if indeed I have the privilege of serving as the
Secretary of Homeland Security, I will make the well-being and
morale of the brave and noble men and women of the Department
my highest priority.
Senator Carper. Thank you, Ali.
Let me just say, colleagues, when Ali Mayorkas and Jeh
Johnson were confirmed to lead the Department of Homeland
Security for the last 4 years of the Obama Administration, what
they found at the Department of Homeland Security, as some of
you recall, is what I call ``leadership by Swiss cheese.'' We
had so many people in acting positions, positions that were
unfilled in leadership, and Tom Coburn and I worked together
with a lot of our colleagues at the time to make sure that we
filled those positions, had hearings, voted, confirmed people,
and then conducted the oversight that we are expected to
conduct.
My colleagues will recall that about year there is really a
survey that is done of major departments within the Federal
Government with respect to morale. Year after year after year,
the Department of Homeland Security was dead last. Dead last.
The last year that Ali Mayorkas and Jeh Johnson led this
Department, my recollection is it was the Department that had
the best improvement in the final year of their leadership. I
would ask us to keep that in mind.
Ali, one of our colleagues has raised the issue of illegal
immigration, people coming across our border. You and I have
been down to Central America; we have been down to Honduras,
Guatemala, and El Salvador. We found over the year there were
three reasons why people come out of those countries to get to
our country, and one is we make their lives miserable. Our
addiction to drugs, illegal drugs, and the trafficking of those
drugs through those countries just creates power and money for
criminal units. What we have done is basically after putting
these people in those countries in a terrible situation,
basically we have built a wall to keep them out when they are
trying to get here.
There is something called the ``Alliance for Prosperity''
which creates three buckets for us to put money into as the
Federal Government, other countries' foundations, nonprofits,
in order to go after crime and corruption, to try to make sure
that there is economic opportunity for people, and that is what
we have done through the Alliance for Prosperity. And you know
what? It works because we go after the root causes.
Would you comment on this, please, going forward?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Carper, President-elect Biden and
Vice President-elect Harris have put forth a bold vision for
addressing the root causes of irregular migration for the
Northern Triangle countries. One cannot overstate the push
factor, why individuals seek to leave their country of origin,
their homes, because of extraordinary violence, because of
corruption, because of extreme poverty, and because of
persecution. We must address the root causes to solve the
problem in the Western Hemisphere, in our region specifically.
That is what President-elect Biden's vision does, and I hope I
have the privilege to execute it as the Secretary.
Senator Carper. Mr. Chairman, if I could, just in closing,
if any of us lived in those three countries and had to put up
with the crime and corruption and lack of economic opportunity,
we would try to get out of there as well. We would come to the
kind of wonderful country that Ali Mayorkas and his family came
to all those years ago. They want to stay in their countries.
We have an opportunity in this new administration to make sure
they have something worth staying for.
Thank you very much.
Chairman Portman. Thank you. Senator Lankford.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LANKFORD
Senator Lankford. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am going to
take off my mask since no one will be within 15 feet of me at
this point.
Mr. Mayorkas, thank you again for stepping up in your
service again in this process. Let me run through just some
very quick questions for you. I have quite a few to be able to
run through, but a lot of these are just getting some things
out of the way.
Will you protect the rights of whistleblowers, access to
the Inspector General, and cooperation with this Committee if
you are the Secretary of Homeland Security?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes. I always have and will continue to do
so.
Senator Lankford. Thank you. This is a prospective issue.
Do you see your role as the leader of DHS as the leader of a
law enforcement agency or a law interpretation or
reinterpretation agency?
Mr. Mayorkas. The Department of Homeland Security is
charged with enforcing the laws that Congress passes.
Senator Lankford. Thank you. If there is someone in the
administration that pushes you, encourages you to not enforce
the law or to ignore the law as the Secretary of Homeland
Security, what would be your response to them?
Mr. Mayorkas. I am an officer of the court. I always have
been.
Senator Lankford. You have heard this statement before, and
you and I have talked about it before. Would you recommend that
ICE be defunded?
Mr. Mayorkas. No.
Senator Lankford. Does ICE need actually additional
support?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, there I will have to study the
condition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, how
efficiently and effectively it is using its resources, and how
it is best serving the American public.
Senator Lankford. Thank you.
Mr. Mayorkas. That requires my study.
Senator Lankford. We will look forward to getting a chance
to get a follow-up on that study.
Would you recommend any of the physical barriers along our
Southern Border be dismantled or removed?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I have not looked at that specific
question. I will share with you the fact that I agree with the
approach that then-Senator McCain, an American hero in my
family and in this country, that Senator McCain took to the
border, which is it is not a monolithic challenge, the border.
The border is varied, depending on the geography, depending on
the specific venue, and depending on the conduct of individuals
around it. We do not need nor should we have a monolithic
answer to that varied and diverse challenge.
Senator Lankford. Right. I would assume that 2,000-mile-
long border, we have many areas that are mountainous, open
desert areas that, I would fully agree, do not need a physical
barrier. We have lots of sight lines there. We can do it with
other technology, other enforcement means on that.
Is there any area of the border that you would see now that
still needs additional repair for physical barriers, an
additional increase in technology, or would need an expansion
of physical barriers?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I look forward to studying that
because I am well aware of the challenges that the border
presents. I am very well aware of the fact, as Senator Johnson
alluded to, that traffickers are seeking to exploit the border,
not only to move people across it illegally, but to move
contraband, to move fentanyl. The narco traffickers have sought
to exploit the current challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and
I look forward to studying the border to make sure that those
challenges are repelled.
Senator Lankford. The border agents that I have spoken to
there along the border tell me two things on physical barriers.
One is it slows people down so they are able to interdict as
they are trying to climb the wall, get around the wall, get
under the wall. They are able to get access to those
individuals and be able to interdict faster in that sense. So
it becomes a deterrent. It also pushes people toward the point
of entry where they can manage those families and individuals a
lot easier in that sense, in a more reasonable environment
rather than being in a very remote area. I look forward to that
ongoing conversation.
You and Senator Johnson had an interchange back and forth
on this very straightforward question. Is economic opportunity
a valid reason for asylum? You quoted the asylum statute on
that, but I guess the yes-or-no question on that is--economic
opportunity does not seem to be in the statute as a valid
reason for asylum. I guess the question I have for you still
is: Is economic opportunity a reason that should be added to
it? It is not there. Do you believe it is there?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I am a lawyer by profession, so I
take a look at the laws, and I enforce them as both a lawyer
and as a law enforcement officer for nearly 20 years of my
career. When one speaks of economic opportunity, what does one
mean? Just generally, an opportunity to make a better living.
If that is what you are referring to, my understanding is that
that does not a legitimate asylum claim make.
Senator Lankford. That is our understanding of the law as
well, and it seems a pretty plain reading of it, that if
someone is coming to increase their economic opportunity,
obviously, almost any country in the world, any city you live
in in the world, there are improved opportunities in the United
States, and we are grateful for that in the United States. But
just saying, hey, you do not have a lot of economic
opportunities where you live does not mean you open up our
borders for asylum claims or to say we are going to somehow
release you into the United States and debate it. There has
been an ongoing conversation about how to be able to manage
that and how to be able to do it.
Let me ask you a difficult question that is going to be
hard to be able to interpret it at this point because you have
not faced it yet, but pretty likely will in the days ahead. As
the leader of DHS, it is pretty likely that you are going to
have thousands of people coming across the border in a migrant
caravan from Honduras pretty rapidly. What message would you
want to give to those folks right now that are traveling north
in that migrant caravan to be able to send a message to them
that if you are confirmed as the Secretary of Homeland
Security, this is the message they need to hear about when they
arrive in the United States?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, let me say at the outset that this
is not the first caravan that has apparently approached the
border over the last 4 years----
Senator Lankford. It is not.
Mr. Mayorkas [continuing]. Or over the last 12 years. The
phenomenon of a caravan is something that we have confronted in
the Department of Homeland Security for many years.
I think President-elect Biden and people who will be
joining his incoming administration have spoken about the fact
that there is a commitment to follow our asylum laws, to
enforce our asylum laws, and that means to provide humanitarian
relief for those individuals who qualify for it under the law.
That cannot be accomplished with just the flick of a switch and
turned on on day one, but it will take time to build the
infrastructure and capacity so that we can enforce our laws as
Congress intended. And that would be the message I would send.
Senator Lankford. So let me ask this: Title 42 authority is
being currently used at our Southern Border right now because
of the COVID risk. We have 21 of our officers and agents that
have died because of COVID, trying to be able to interdict
individuals that they then acquired COVID and have died in the
line of duty. It has been incredibly difficult on the entire
Department on that to be able to watch that.
As you go through the memorial to agents listing that is
out there for DHS, you see 2020 is a year where we just have
all of those agents listed out there, and you realize the pain
and what has really occurred in this time period.
Do you anticipate changing the Title 42 authorities that
currently exist to be able to protect our agents and
individuals in the United States from individuals traveling
from very high profile COVID areas? Do you anticipate changing
that?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I appreciate the question very much,
and I am very well aware of the loss of life of our brave
front-line personnel. I have met with the Border Patrol counsel
that represents the Border Patrol agents. I have met with the
National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the organization that
represents Customs and Border Protection's Office of Personnel.
I am very proud of the fact that both organizations have
supported my nomination, and I look forward to studying Title
42 authorities, what they provide. I can say this
unequivocally, that our highest priority is to protect the
health and well-being of the American public.
Senator Lankford. I would hope that we would not have
different rules for people flying in from Honduras than we have
illegally traveling from Honduras, because right now we have
pretty strict travel restrictions coming in if you are flying
in legally, and if somehow we have a different set of rules
that is lax if you are traveling here illegally, that would be
quite a quandary for us to be able to explain to everyone how
the rule of law prevails.
Thank you for stepping up. There is a lot to be able to do,
and I look forward to ongoing conversation.
Mr. Mayorkas. Thank you, Senator.
Chairman Portman. Senator Hassan.
Senator Hassan. Mr. Chair, I was going to switch places
with Senator Sinema, who has a scheduling issue, if that is all
right with you.
Chairman Portman. That is understandable, and, Senator
Sinema, are you with us?
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SINEMA
Senator Sinema. I am. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and
I want to thank Senator Hassan for her kindness. I appreciate
it.
So thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for holding this
hearing today, and I appreciate that Mr. Mayorkas is joining us
today. It is critical that the Department of Homeland Security
has Senate-confirmed leadership as quickly as possible. My
questions today will focus on several topics related to border
security and immigration, which are key issues in my State of
Arizona. I also hope to discuss the cybersecurity issue.
I remain committed to finding bipartisan and common-sense
solutions to secure Arizona's border and protect the public
health and safety while also treating migrants fairly and
humanely.
Mr. Mayorkas, my first question for you: DHS faces a
critical challenge at the border with the new administration
considering changes that would allow more asylum seekers to
enter our country in the midst of a pandemic. This will
especially be a challenge in Arizona. The Wall Street Journal
recently highlighted that our State is the Nation's COVID-19
hot spot. We have the highest infection rate per capita, and
our hospitals are all at or near capacity.
So what steps do you plan to take, if confirmed, to ensure
that DHS develops a COVID-19 testing strategy that protects our
communities while ensuring asylum seekers are treated fairly?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, thank you very much for your
question. President-elect Biden and his incoming team have
spoken very powerfully about both aspects of the question that
you pose: No. 1, that the health and well-being of the American
public is the highest priority, and the President-elect has
laid out an ambitious vision for tackling the COVID-19 pandemic
that has caused our Nation so much pain. I look forward to the
opportunity, should I be confirmed to be the next Secretary, to
be a part of that vision and that plan.
The President-elect and his incoming team have also spoken
of the commitment to enforce our asylum laws so that we provide
humanitarian relief to those who qualify under them in the
proudest traditions of our country. That will take time, and I
hope I have the privilege of being a part of that effort as
well.
Senator Sinema. Thank you. Most Federal workers are slated
to get vaccinated through county allocations, but counties
along our Southern Border in Arizona are struggling with a
disproportionately large percentage of Phase 1b Frontline
essential workers. That includes our court officers and our
Border Patrol agents that work so hard to protect our borders
and ensure the flow of trade.
The recent news that DHS employees can access vaccines from
Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers is promising, but border
communities like Yuma and Douglas are more than 2 hours by car
from the nearest VA medical centers in Tucson and Phoenix.
In order for all DHS employees to be assured fair and
equitable access to a coronavirus vaccine, options should be
available at community-based outpatient clinics. When
confirmed, can you improve vaccine distribution and access for
our DHS workforce?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, one of my highest priorities, as I
have had the privilege of articulating earlier in this hearing,
is the well-being of our men and women throughout the
Department of Homeland Security, and I am well aware of the
challenges that our front-line personnel confront, especially
because they often are confronting congregate settings that
only increase the risk of the spread of COVID-19. I look
forward to studying the issue, should I be confirmed, of
working in an all-of-government effort to protect the
government workforce across the Federal architecture,
especially, of course, in my priority area of the Department of
Homeland Security and, of course, the American public writ
large.
Senator Sinema. Thank you. During the 2019 surge of asylum
seekers at the border, the efforts or Arizona nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) and our local governments to aid migrants
who had been released by Customs and Border Protection was
absolutely critical. Your prepared remarks describe the
Department of Homeland Security as a ``department of
partnerships.'' I agree. I believe that partnering with local
governments and organizations, especially in border
communities, is critical.
If you are confirmed, will you and Arizona DHS leaders work
with me, our NGO's, and local governments to improve
communication and cooperation regarding border security, asylum
seekers and immigration, and the flow of trade across the
border?
Mr. Mayorkas. I would be honored to do so, Senator.
Senator Sinema. Thank you. Last Congress, I was proud to
work with Senator Cornyn to pass my Southwest Border Security
Technology Improvement Act. This critical law will make sure
that DHS properly analyzes technology gaps along the border and
develops smart solutions to fill them. I hope you will work
with me in my office as you develop the analysis required by
our law to ensure our Nation tackles border security in
effective and efficient ways.
What are some of the initial border technology challenges
you want to examine once confirmed?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I would be honored to work with you
to ensure that we are harnessing the best innovation, the best
advances in technology to ensure border security, and not only
border security in terms of tackling the challenges that we
have been speaking about in this hearing, but also in
facilitating and promoting lawful trade and travel, to really
modernize our ports of entry (POEs) and to facilitate the
lawful flow of cargo and people that add to the prosperity of
our economy. I think the challenges are considerable, as are
the opportunities. I look forward to working with the Office of
Science and Technology (STT) in the Department of Homeland
Security to ensure that it is adequately resourced and
partnering with the other parts of the Department, the other
parts of the Federal Government, in harnessing the capabilities
and opportunities in the private sector and academic
institutions to make sure that we are bringing an all-of-
government and all-of-society approach to meeting the
challenges and opportunities of the border.
Senator Sinema. I appreciate that. My time is rapidly
closing down, so I will quickly ask my last question about
cybersecurity. It is a critical issue in Arizona. We have had
ransomware attacks on Arizona medical, education, and
governmental organizations, and the threats are growing. We
want to emphasize education about cyber hygiene early and often
to get ahead of these threats.
Will you work with my office and me to explore
opportunities to enhance cyber education programs in Arizona
and nationally?
Mr. Mayorkas. I will, Senator.
Senator Sinema. Thank you.
Mr. Chairman, I yield--I am over my time. Thank you for
your indulgence, Mr. Chairman, and, again, thanks to Senator
Hassan for allowing me to speak ahead of her. I appreciate it
very much.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Sinema. Senator
Romney.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROMNEY
Senator Romney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayorkas, nice
to see you. I appreciate your wife being here and your
daughters. I am sure your daughters are enjoying seeing you on
the hot seat. I am sure they have had that experience
themselves with you.
A couple of things. I want to follow up on something
Senator Lankford opened, which is apparently a caravan moving
in our direction. What is your intention with regards to that
caravan that is coming to our border? Is your intention to
allow them just to come into the country? Will they be stopped?
What is the plan?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, we are a Nation of immigrants, and
we are also a Nation of laws, and I intend to apply the law in
the execution of my responsibilities as the Secretary of
Homeland Security, should I have that privilege.
Senator Romney. I understand that. What does that mean in
this regard? Does that mean that they will be interdicted and
rejected from coming into the country? Evaluated one by one?
What is the plan?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, when people present themselves at
our border, we apply the laws of our Nation to determine
whether they qualify for relief under our humanitarian laws or
whether they do not.
Senator Romney. Kind of uncertain there, but I presume that
means that they will not be allowed just to come into the
country, that these people will be stopped at the border and
processed one by one. Is that correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I apologize if I was uncertain. If
people qualify under the law to remain in the United States,
then we will apply the law accordingly. If they do not qualify
to remain in the United States, then they will not.
Senator Romney. Thank you.
Chairman Portman raised a number of issues with regards to
the EB-5 program and your involvement in what appeared to be
political favoritism, and he asked you what lessons you have
learned from that. I had the experience of serving as a
Governor and now as a Senator. In each case, I have had a Chief
of Staff who have acquainted me with anything that might
provide the appearance of favoritism or conflict of interest of
some kind, political or economic. Sometimes I do not notice
those things, and they bring them to my attention: ``You should
not involve yourself in this decision because it may be seen as
being inappropriate, and as a result, you might lose the
confidence of the American people who entrust you to carry out
your responsibilities without favoritism.''
I would have anticipated that when Senator Portman asked
you what have you learned from this process that you might say,
``I have learned from the process that when something appears
to be political, I should recuse myself.''
Is that not a lesson you learned with regards to this?
Looking back on these circumstances, should you have not said,
``Because I have been called by a leading Democrat''--whether
Governor Rendell or others of that nature--``that in a
circumstance like this, because of my political connection, I
should recuse myself and let others take that responsibility''?
Is that not the appropriate action to take when something has
the very distinct appearance of political favoritism?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, let me, if I may, answer that in
several parts, because the EB-5 Investor Visa Program is a
program that involves very significant complex business
developments, that involve hundreds of millions of dollars, and
it was broken. For me to recuse myself from the program in its
entirety would have been for me to abdicate my responsibility
to fix the problem.
Senator Romney. Of course. I am only suggesting with
regards to when an individual who happens to be a leading
Democrat would call you, that that meant, ``Holy cow, I have to
step back.''
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, on the one hand, I was generally
responsive to Members of the U.S. Senate and the House of
Representatives on both sides of the aisle, and I prided myself
on my responsiveness, and I commit to continue in that
responsiveness.
We did establish guardrails to better protect against the
appearance or the perception of favoritism as a result of the
Inspector General's findings, and I would adhere to those
guardrails and findings accordingly. I did, in fact, learn,
Senator, how to better guard against the perception, and I
agree with you 100 percent that it is our obligation to guard
against that perception so that there is trust and confidence
in the decision-making of government leaders.
Senator Romney. Thank you. Some time ago, I toured the
border with our Nation and Mexico in San Diego and met with the
head of the union responsible for keeping our border safe. He
said, ``Look, the wall is helpful, but it is not going to stop
people coming across the border as long as we have such a big
magnet.'' I said, ``What do you mean, a big magnet?'' He said,
``Well, if people are able to get paid $10 an hour working on
our side and only $1 an hour working on the other side, they
are going to find a way in.'' From that, I recognized the
importance of the E-Verify program basically as something to
punish American employers that hire people who come here
illegally.
Do you support the E-Verify program? Is it an important
tool? Should it be mandatory? Should it be permanent? Is this
an essential element of protecting our Nation and the
opportunities of employment for so many of our people today who
have been put out of work because of the COVID crisis?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, when I was the Director of U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services, under my leadership we
made tremendous improvements to the E-Verify program, and under
my leadership, enrollment, voluntary enrollment, in the E-
Verify program increased dramatically. I would look forward to
studying the utilization now of the EB-5 program, its
effectiveness in the business community, its effectiveness in
achieving its intended purposes, and I would look forward to
working with you as I study the effectiveness of that program.
Senator Romney. I assure you that I will be happy to work
with you to see if we cannot get E-Verify as a more effective
tool for policing employers who hire folks that have come here
illegally.
I will leave one question without much opportunity for you
to respond to given my time, but I have had the occasion of
working someplace and wondering how I would do things
differently than my boss. You have worked as the number two at
the Department of Homeland Security. You have probably looked
at what your boss did. He was a great leader. But you have
probably got some ideas yourself as to things you would like to
do differently.
One that certainly must come to your mind is with regards
to our cybersecurity. We are woefully unprepared from a
cybersecurity standpoint in this Nation and in our government,
and I hope that as you look at this agency and your new
responsibilities, assuming you are confirmed, that you will
focus on bringing a whole different level of expertise both in
defensive actions with regard to cybersecurity and offensive
actions and protect our government and our economy from those
who would attack us in this new most powerful way.
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, if I may respond briefly, I was
incredibly proud to be the Deputy to Secretary Johnson.
Secretary Johnson prioritized a very evolving cybersecurity
threat, and we made tremendous advances in the Department under
his ultimate leadership. The threat has only evolved and only
grown since then, and I can assure you that the cybersecurity
of our Nation will be one of my highest priorities because I
concur with you that the threat is real and the threat is every
day, and we have to do a much better job than we are doing now.
Senator Romney. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Romney. Senator
Hassan.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HASSAN
Senator Hassan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member,
for having this hearing. I want to thank Senators Feinstein and
Tester for introducing our nominee today. I want to thank you,
Mr. Mayorkas, for your service and for your continued
willingness to serve. I want to thank your family, too, because
nobody does this by themselves, and it is a huge family
commitment. So, please, everyone, know how appreciative we are.
I want to start with a question about domestic terrorism.
We have seen a disturbing and alarming rise in domestic
terrorism throughout the country, culminating, of course, in
the violent attack on the United States Capitol 13 days ago.
The Department of Homeland Security was created after 9/11
largely to address the lack of adequate information sharing
about terrorism-related threats.
Despite the fact that the threat of terrorism has evolved
and changed in the nearly 20 years since the 9/11 attacks, no
comprehensive Federal review of terrorism information sharing
has occurred to keep pace with the evolution of these threats.
To address this, Senator Johnson and I introduced last
Congress a bill to establish a Federal interagency commission
to review both domestic and international terrorism information
sharing. In what you have seen in the preparation for your
confirmation and comparing it with your time as Deputy
Secretary, do you feel information sharing on domestic and
international terrorism is adequate?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, thank you very much for your
question. The Department of Homeland Security plays a
leadership role in the collection of information with respect
to the domestic and foreign terrorist threat and the
dissemination of that information. The Office of Intelligence
and Analysis is particularly on point, and I think that we can
do a lot better in the distribution of that information to our
brave first responders in local communities throughout our
country. I would look forward to working with you and this
Committee to make sure that that interagency task force of
which you speak is built and its responsibilities are executed
most effectively.
Senator Hassan. Thank you for that. One of the things that
I learned over time as Governor is that it is one thing to talk
about information sharing and coordination; it is another thing
to actually invest in it and make sure that it happens.
Clearly, we need to do a better job at it in this area.
Now I want to ask you a couple of questions to follow up on
what Senator Romney started to talk about on cybersecurity. The
SolarWinds cyber attack revealed vulnerabilities across the
government in the system designed to prevent such a far-
reaching attack. As Secretary, you will be charged with
immediately reviewing the adequacy of two Department of
Homeland Security programs--the EINSTEIN program and the
Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM), program--in order
to understand why they did not detect or prevent these
intrusions.
Do you have any initial thoughts on the performance of
these programs and whether any fundamental changes will be
required to either?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I look forward to studying the
SolarWinds attack. Of course, I have been studying it intensely
as a private citizen. Should I have the privilege of serving as
the Secretary, I will avail myself of the best and latest
intelligence that the United States has with respect to this
attack and conducting a thorough review of EINSTEIN and
Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation to understand whether
EINSTEIN and CDM, are appropriately designed and appropriately
and effectively executed to stop a threat such as SolarWinds;
and if not, what other defenses need we develop in the Federal
Government to best protect our very valuable equities and
resources.
Senator Hassan. Thank you. I look forward to working with
you on that as well.
Let us turn to State and local cybersecurity for a minute.
In December, Senator Paul and I held a hearing to examine the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on State and local entities as
they work to defend against cyber threats. One of the witnesses
was Denis Goulet, the president of the National Association of
State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) and also the
commissioner of New Hampshire's Department of Information
Technology. In his testimony, Commissioner Goulet implored
Congress to authorize a stand-alone Federal cybersecurity grant
program that would help State and local entities afford to take
the steps that they need to strengthen their information
technology systems. The National Governors Association (NGA)
and several other entities have echoed this call.
Mr. Mayorkas, when you consider the current State of
Federal support to State and local governments, would you
support a stand-alone grant program? Moreover, what elements of
a grant program would need to be included in order to make an
effort like this sustainable?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, you raise a very important point,
because in the cybersecurity world we often say that we are
only as strong as our weakest link, and we have to recognize
that there are local communities that do not have the financial
or other wherewithal to really safeguard their cyber assets and
thus protect against the threats that they confront. There are
a number of different solutions that we need to consider,
whether it is improving our information sharing so that the
best practices of one geography are shared with other
geographies and we raise the bar across the board; and also to
your very valid point, Senator, whether we should institute a
Federal grant program to provide assets to those communities
that do not have them adequately to deal with a very
sophisticated threat. I look forward to considering a grant
proposal and working with you in that regard.
Senator Hassan. Thank you. I think there are other grant
programs that we do out of DHS or Department of Justice (DOJ)
that really on our physical defenses try to play this role, and
I think it is time for us to catch up to that kind of grant
program in the cyber space. I look forward to working on it
with you.
Why don't I yield back the rest of my time? If there is a
second round, Mr. Chair, I have a couple more questions, but
thank you very much.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Hassan. Senator Scott.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR SCOTT
Senator Scott. First off, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I
want to thank Mr. Mayorkas for his past service and his
willingness to serve. I am sure your family is very proud of
what you have accomplished.
We had a call the other day, and one thing we talked about
was border security, and I think your belief was that there are
other things to do besides having the border wall to provide
security. When you look at the caravan and then you look at the
video today of that caravan walking and they are really just
pushing through Guatemalan police force, how would you handle
something like that on the border if we did not have a border
wall?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Scott and Mr. Chairman, I think I
captured Senator Scott's question. When I served as the Deputy
Secretary and I met with the Border Patrol, both at
headquarters and in the field along the Southern Border, what I
heard from the Border Patrol was that we need a diverse
approach to border security; that in some instances a physical
barrier would be effective, but that in other instances more
boots on the ground would assist; and yet in other
circumstances the use of technology, the use of air and marine
assets would be most effective. I look forward to studying the
challenges at the border and developing a sophisticated
approach to meet these challenges to be sure that we are
harnessing innovation and technology to the best of our
abilities.
Senator Scott. Thank you. With regard to the wall itself,
would you tear down parts of the wall? Would you stop the
construction that is going on? How would you deal with the
existing plans with regard to the wall?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Scott, President-elect Biden has
committed to stop construction of the border wall. It would be
my responsibility to execute on that commitment, and I have not
looked at the question of what we do with respect to the wall
that already has been built. I look forward to studying that
question, understanding the costs and benefits of doing so,
being open and transparent with you and with all Members of
this Committee, sharing my thoughts and considerations, and
working cooperatively with you toward a solution.
Senator Scott. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas. We talked about
this the other day. Could you repeat your position with regard
to funding Border Patrol and ICE and whether you think we
should continue to fund them or we should abolish them?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement play critical
roles in the Federal Government, and I would not abolish them.
Senator Scott. I am from Florida, and in Florida we have
hurricanes, and we have had some floods. But other States have
wildfires and more floods than we probably have. But the FEMA
partnership and the Federal funding for those programs have
been pretty important to us. There are recent reports that the
Biden administration is speaking about taking $2 billion out of
budgeting for natural disasters and giving it to New York and
New York City basically to backfill their budgets that they--I
was a Governor when Cuomo was Governor. He has never lived
within its means and been able to balance his budget. But what
do you think about taking money out of a FEMA program for
natural disasters and funding budget shortfalls in New York and
New York City?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I am not familiar with that
proposal. I very well understand the value of the Disaster
Relief Fund (DRF) that is administered by FEMA, the Disaster
Relief and Security grants that FEMA administers. I well
understand their importance to communities that suffer from
extreme weather conditions and natural disasters. I would want
to study any such proposal that sought to reallocate those
important resources, and I assure you once again that I will
work collaboratively with you and share my findings and work
with you toward the best solution on behalf of the communities
and the American public.
Senator Scott. Thank you. One last thing. We talked a
little bit about Communist China and the fact that they use
slave labor and they have a significant amount of counterfeit
goods that are coming into this country. We talked about our
international mail centers and things like that. So we are
clearly not stopping everything. So what would you do, both,
from an enforcement standpoint and from an informing-the-public
standpoint, of getting them--Americans understand the risk of
taking--buying Chinese products that might be used that are
produced with slave labor or because they are counterfeit or
because they are of poor quality?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I am very well aware of the threat
that China poses. I am very well aware of the exploitation of
workers in China, the manufacture of goods that are exported
outside of China. As a matter of fact, I prosecuted one of the
very first cases in that area back in the late 1990s.
I am also aware, tragically, of the amount of illegal
substances that are exported from China and imported into the
United States that kill thousands and thousands of Americans
every day. I have visited the Customs and Border Protection
mail interdiction facilities across our country, and I have
seen the substances that do so much harm to our communities.
Rest assured, Senator, that I will devote considerable
resources and considerable attention to battling these grave
and serious threats and look forward to doing so in partnership
with this Committee.
Senator Scott. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Scott. Senator Rosen.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR ROSEN
Senator Rosen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member
Peters.
Mr. Mayorkas, thank you for being with us today and for
your commitment to serving our Nation. I appreciated our
productive meeting last month, and I look forward to hearing
more about your plans to secure our homeland while treating
immigrant communities with both dignity and respect.
Amidst a global pandemic and with the ever-present threat
of cyber attacks, domestic terrorism, and adversaries from
abroad, I urge this Committee to facilitate a swift
confirmation for Mr. Mayorkas so he can immediately get to work
for our country.
I would like to ask the first question about protecting
DACA and Temporary Protected Status (TPS), because the DACA and
TPS programs provide critical protections to an estimated
13,000 DACA recipients and more than 4,000 TPS holders in
Nevada, from college students, small business owners, to
medical professionals and members of our armed forces.
However, the Trump administration relentlessly targeted
these programs, causing significant stress and uncertainty
within our communities. This is all the more troubling as
thousands of DACA and TPS recipients who are front-line workers
continue to risk their lives to help combat the COVID-19
pandemic.
While Congress will continue to work in a bipartisan manner
to permanently protect DACA and TPS, the administration must
strengthen these programs to protect DREAMers and TPS holders.
So how do you plan to protect DACA recipients until we pass
comprehensive immigration reform?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, thank you. President-elect Biden,
has committed to presenting Congress on day one with a
permanent solution, an immigration reform bill, and I would be
privileged to serve as the Secretary and work with Congress in
passing legislation to fix our much broken immigration system.
President-elect Biden also has committed to reinstituting the
DACA program that I was proud to implement when I served as the
Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
President-elect Biden also has committed to following the law
and applying Temporary Protected Status to populations who
qualify for it by reason of the country conditions in their
nations of origin.
I look forward to executing the President's commitments
should I have the honor of serving as his Secretary of Homeland
Security.
Senator Rosen. One final point on this. We do have a lot of
TPS recipients in Nevada, and so how do we strengthen the
review process or strengthen our process to provide more
certainty to some of these recipients who have been here for
decades and frankly they are pillars within our community?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, again, I look forward to working
with Congress in finding a permanent solution to immigration
reform and the needs of individuals who have been resident in
this country for many years and have contributed to its well-
being. Temporary Protected Status has statutory requirements
that we in the Obama-Biden administration were very proud to
apply in adherence to the law and in the service of the
equitable and humanitarian considerations that the law
contemplated. I look forward to doing so in close partnership
with you and this Committee.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. In the past few years, we have
seen an alarming increase in domestic anti-Semitism and white
supremacist extremism, from neo-Nazis chanting ``Jews will not
replace us'' in Charlottesville, to the deadliest attack
against a Jewish community in modern American history at the
Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Just this month, we saw
American citizens lay siege to the U.S. Capitol, waving
Confederate flags, hanging a noose on the west front lawn, and
wearing Camp Auschwitz T-shirts. Despite the fact that DHS
concluded last year that racially and ethnically motivated
violent extremists, specifically white supremacist extremists,
will remain the most persistent and lethal threat in the
homeland, the Department has not adequately invested in
combating domestic threats.
I would like to talk a little bit about our Nonprofit
Security Grant Program (NSGP). FEMA provides this to
synagogues, Jewish community centers, other nonprofits, houses
of worship all across this country to protect against terrorist
attacks. In recent years, DHS offices have tried to prevent
domestic terrorism, but are facing major cuts in personnel and
funding.
The Department lacks a coherent strategy to combat anti-
Semitism and white supremacist extremism online, which far too
often, unfortunately, manifests itself in real-life actions.
I am co-chair of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for
Combating Anti-Semitism along with Senator Lankford, but I
would like to ask you: What are your plans for addressing anti-
Semitism and really tackling these online platforms that are
promoting anti-Semitism?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I am profoundly aware of the threat
and existence of anti-Semitism in our country and the world. My
mother lost her paternal grandparents and seven uncles by
reason of their Jewish faith in the Holocaust. My mother fled
her home with her parents because of the Holocaust. I have
dedicated a considerable amount of my personal and professional
energy to battling anti-Semitism and discrimination of all
forms. Most recently, I served on the advisory board of the
Secure Community Network sponsored by the Jewish Federation to
protect day schools, synagogues, and places of worship. I have
worked with the Anti-Defamation League to battle discrimination
and hate of all forms.
Under my leadership as the Deputy Secretary of Homeland
Security, we grew the nonprofit grant program to best protect
minority communities, communities of faith, from the scourge of
hate, and I would be privileged to work with you and this
Committee to make sure that we build on those advances and once
and for all tackle this challenge that has caused so much pain
to so many.
Senator Rosen. Thank you. I have more questions if there is
a second round. I will yield back my time. Thank you.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Rosen. Senator Hawley.
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR HAWLEY
Senator Hawley. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Mayorkas,
thank you for being here. Congratulations on your nomination.
Let me come back to a question that Senator Scott asked a
moment ago regarding the border wall system, and I just wanted
to follow up on your answer to make sure that I was clear. As
you know, Congress has recently appropriated and enacted into
law $1.4 billion in additional funding for the border wall
system. My question is--and I just wanted to be clear on this--
do you intend, if you are confirmed, to obligate and distribute
those funds as they have been allotted and designated by
Congress?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Hawley, I know that, as I previously
expressed, President-elect Biden has committed to cease funding
for further construction of the border wall. I would execute
President-elect Biden's commitment in adherence to the laws
that guide us.
Senator Hawley. Does that mean, Mr. Mayorkas, that you
intend not to obligate and spend the funds as directed by
Congress? I am aware of the President-elect's commitment, and I
think it stands in some tension with the law passed, adopted,
and duly enacted by this body. I just want to be clear on where
we are headed. Are you telling me that you do not think that
the $1.4 billion that has been enacted, that has been directed
toward the border wall system, that you will not follow the law
and obligate that? I just am trying to understand what your
position is going to be.
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, let me, if I may, strike at the
fundamental point that I believe you are inquiring of, which
is, will I follow the law in the execution of my
responsibilities if I have the privilege of serving as the
Secretary of Homeland Security? The answer is, yes, I will
follow the law. What I would need to do is to understand what
the law provides with respect to the obligation of funds to
construct the border wall and see what the opportunities are to
discontinue any such obligation if, in fact, the law permits
and act accordingly.
Senator Hawley. Very good. That does answer my question,
and you got right to nub of it, which was what you will do with
regard to the law as it currently stands. I look forward to
seeing the actions that you take there.
Let me come back to the subject of immigration policy a
little bit more broadly, and speaking of the President-elect's
plans, he has said that he intends to propose as early as his
first day in office, so tomorrow, a plan for amnesty to up to
11 million illegal immigrants. Now, I have to tell you I have
concerns about that, especially in this time of severe economic
distress that has fallen disproportionately on working-class
Americans. Give me a sense of do you support mass amnesty--11
million is a very large number. Do you support mass amnesty on
that scale? Give me a sense of your thinking on this.
Mr. Mayorkas. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to
that important issue, Senator Hawley. President-elect Biden has
committed to presenting Congress on day one with an immigration
reform bill that once and for all fixes what I think we all can
agree is a broken immigration system, and he has spoken of the
need for a path to citizenship for the individuals who have
been in this country for many years, who have contributed to
our communities and to this Nation's economic prosperity.
I would be privileged to work with Congress to pass
immigration reform legislation that provides that path and
provides a permanent solution to what is clearly a broken
system.
Senator Hawley. Are you worried at all, Mr. Mayorkas, that
an amnesty on that scale such as envisioned by the President-
elect will become itself a pull factor? Senator Scott mentioned
the recent migrant caravan from Honduras headed toward the
United States that appears to have been disrupted in Guatemala.
But are you concerned--I am concerned about the pull factor
here as well as the policy implications, particularly as it
relates to working Americans. But are you concerned about a
pull factor in an amnesty of that scale?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Hawley, I remember the bipartisan
piece of legislation that the U.S. Senate proposed a number of
years ago with the path to citizenship for individuals who had
contributed to our Nation's well-being for many years and the
fact that it spoke of certain requirements to ensure that
individuals who had been here and contributed to the United
States could gain that path and those who had not yet arrived
would not.
But with respect to the pull and push factor separately, if
I may, Senator Hawley, let me speak to the push factor, because
I do not think its severity can be overstated. I say this
because President-elect Biden has articulated an ambitious and
visionary plan for addressing the root causes of irregular
migration. When loving parents are willing to send their young
child alone to traverse Mexico to reach the dangerous Southern
Border between the United States and Mexico because of the
acute violence and severe poverty and the fear of persecution,
I think we need to address the push factor as the greatest
challenge to irregular migration. Therefore, the investment in
countries where so many people are fleeing, the investments in
building a refugee program in the Western Hemisphere in the
region, so that humanitarian relief is provided and our border
is not the first place at which those needs are confronted I
think is a vital and underlying solution to the problem we
confront.
Senator Hawley. Thank you for that. Let me ask you a few
more questions. Mr. Chairman, I will try to be brief. I want to
ask about the Migrant Protection Protocols, and then I want to
ask you about human trafficking. But, just quickly, Mr.
Mayorkas, on the Migrant Protection Protocols, this is, as you
know, the Trump administration's policy of processing migrants
in Mexico hoping to restore a safe and orderly immigration
process while deterring those dangerous crossings that you were
just talking about.
Do you anticipate continuing to implement the Migration
Protection Protocols (MPP), or will you end them?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Hawley, I think you were cutoff
midstream in your final question, but I think I understand your
question, which is would I continue with the Migrant Protection
Protocols.
Senator Hawley. Correct.
Mr. Mayorkas. President-elect Biden has spoken of his
commitment to end the Migrant Protection Protocols, and I would
execute on that commitment, should I have the privilege of
serving as the Secretary.
Senator Hawley. OK. Last question, Mr. Chairman. On human
trafficking, Mr. Mayorkas, last October the Department launched
a new Integrated Operations Center for Countering Human
Trafficking (CCHT) led by ICE. It had considerable success, but
there is a tremendous amount of work left to do.
As Secretary, if confirmed, would you continue to
prioritize combating human trafficking and supporting ICE and
the Department as a whole in its battle against this modern-day
form of slavery?
Mr. Mayorkas. I would, Senator. I would look forward to
working with you in that regard, and I can share with you that
for 12 years as a Federal prosecutor, I focused considerable
energy and effort on combating human trafficking and
prosecuting the perpetrators of it.
Senator Hawley. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Hawley.
We will now go to a second round, and I know some Members
were not able to stay. Let us make this a lightning round. We
are going to go quickly and try to get yes or no answers.
First, we talked about the Inspector General report
earlier. I wanted to give you a chance to respond to the second
part of it, which was the report that indicated that there were
employees--``whistleblowers,'' as they were called by the IG--
who stepped forward and said that they were poorly treated at
USCIS. How do you explain that over 15 of these employees from
different locations and employment levels provided testimony on
how they were treated poorly by you? How do you respond to
that?
Mr. Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, I am very grateful to you that
you have asked that question because I know you referenced that
in your opening statement and, quite candidly, if you had not
asked this question of me, I would have requested the
opportunity to address it before we adjourned this hearing.
Mr. Chairman, my father taught me a very important
principle, and that is that an organization chart is vertical
when it comes to the division of responsibilities, but it is
horizontal and perfectly flat when it comes to the statute of
each and every individual in the organization. My father taught
me that not by words, but by how he conducted himself. I am
immensely proud of the fact that I have adhered to that lesson
throughout my career as a professional and throughout my life
as a human being. Senator, Mr. Chairman, you can ask the
thousands of people who have worked with me over my career
about how I have conducted myself, and I am very proud of that
fact, and the fact is that it is my greatest source of pride,
the dignity and respect with which I have treated others.
As the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services, Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned before, I fix problems.
Sometimes fixing problems means making improvements, and
sometimes making improvements means making change, and some
people are not happy with change. But change, improvement,
fixing problems, is my commitment.
I take stock in the fact that just today an article was
published about me, and I read in there Mr. Homan's comment.
Mr. Homan was the leader of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
during this administration, and he was the head of Enforcement
and Removal Operations (ERO) when I served as the Deputy
Secretary. Mr. Homan and I disagreed on policy from time to
time, but we had mutual respect. What he said about me was the
fact that I always listened, that I always invited me differing
views, and I respected the articulation of them. I made my
decisions, but I was fair and understanding and open and
transparent in receiving and in inviting different views,
because that is an obligation to make sure that we bring the
best thinking to the table on behalf of the American people. I
am deeply proud, immensely proud of my conduct as a person and
as a professional.
Chairman Portman. Thank you. That question was not
necessarily appropriate for a lightning round, I guess----
Mr. Mayorkas. I think the question was.
Chairman Portman [continuing]. But we appreciate the
answer.
Mr. Mayorkas. The question was. Perhaps my answer was not.
Chairman Portman. I have to make a comment here with regard
to the IG, because one of my colleagues earlier questioned the
integrity of the IG. And as you know, Mr. John Roth was the IG
who issued the report and substantially completed it. His
predecessor was the IG that my colleague was talking about, and
I just want to put that on the record, again, not to have
anybody's reputation unfairly besmirched in this process. Mr.
Roth, by the way, was widely regarded, now a private citizen--I
did speak to him about the report, which he stands by--and
unanimously confirmed by the Senate.
Let me ask you about the particular issues on
cybersecurity. You and I had a chance to go into this in some
detail in our conversation. As you know, the SolarWinds massive
breach concerns all of us and, frankly, is not that surprising
given what we had been finding, which is that the Federal
Government is not well prepared to deal with these kinds of
breaches that are going to be increasingly a challenge for us.
CISA, which is the group within the Homeland Security
Department you talked about earlier, I believe has been
stretched too thin. They did a great job on the elections,
keeping cyber attacks from happening in the election, but they,
unfortunately, during that same time period did not even know
about the apparently Russian massive cyber breach.
Can you comment on what CISA should do going forward? It is
a new agency. Congress has given them a lot of responsibility.
I do not think we have given them an adequate mission that is
focused enough or adequate resources to be able to carry out
that mission. So that is my view. But what is your view on
CISA? What do you commit to do if you are confirmed with
respect to getting CISA on its feet as a Federal coordinating
body to deal with cyber threats?
Mr. Mayorkas. Mr. Chairman, this Committee deserves
tremendous praise for standing up CISA as the critical agency
in the Department of Homeland Security that really owns the
cybersecurity mission on behalf of the Department, and I think
Congress deserves credit for the National Defense Authorization
Act (NDAAs) provisions further equipping CISA to meet its
statutory obligations and the challenges and opportunities that
it confronts.
CISA must improve the cyber hygiene of the Federal
Government, of the many departments and agencies throughout it.
It must strengthen the public-private partnership not only for
the benefit, of course, of the Federal Government, but for the
benefit of the private sector itself. I take stock of the fact
that the Cyberspace Solarium Commission's (CSC) recommendation
for a National Cybersecurity Director was passed. I think this
is going to require an all-of-government approach, and there is
a great amount that will rest on the shoulders of CISA. I hope
I have the privilege to lead the Department and support CISA in
meeting those obligations.
Chairman Portman. That is good. You talked about cyber
hygiene. The Federal Information Security Modernization Act
(FISMA), looks at the agencies every year and decides how they
are doing, and the DHS cybersecurity program was rated
``ineffective.'' So it is not just that CISA needs to work on
the rest of government. There needs to be a little work in-
house to be able to straighten that out. Are you committed to
doing that?
Mr. Mayorkas. Absolutely, Mr. Chairman. We need to lead by
example.
Chairman Portman. We talked earlier a little about the drug
issue, and as you know, I am the author of the Synthetics
Trafficking and Overdose Prevention (STOP) Act, which been
effective at keeping some of this fentanyl from coming in from
China by mail. Unfortunately, the Department, particularly CBP,
has not been moving forward as they should to be able to
implement that. The CBP regulations regarding how the STOP Act
will be implemented were due in October 2019. They still have
not been finalized. As a result, the STOP Act, which said that
we have to require China to provide the advance electronic data
on all packages by the end of last year--so a couple weeks
ago--was not met. And Congress stepped in, with my support, and
we gave them another 3 months. Otherwise, hundreds of thousands
of packages would have been turned away. But we have to get
these regulations in place, and we have to be sure and meet
that new March 15th deadline.
Are you committed to doing that, making sure those
regulations are put in place and that we can get the STOP Act
fully implemented?
Mr. Mayorkas. I certainly am, Mr. Chairman, and when we
last spoke, you notified me of this issue, and I followed up.
And should I have the privilege of being confirmed, one of my
priorities will be to make sure that we promulgate those
regulations, because I very well understand the urgency of the
threat that you have identified.
Chairman Portman. We have to keep this poison from coming
into our communities directly by our U.S. mail system. We know
we have more to do on the border now, too, because that is
where much of it has shifted
On E-Verify, I take your answer earlier to Senator Romney--
I thought his question was excellent--about the need for us to
strengthen E-Verify. It is not just a matter of making sure
that more companies step up and voluntarily use it, in my view.
It is a matter of changing the program so it is more effective
and, specifically, obviously, the issue of identification. If
you have false identification, fraudulently obtained
identification, then the program is not going to work
effectively.
Will you commit to work with us on dealing with the pull
factor, which is the magnet of U.S. jobs?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I look forward to working with and
commit to working with this Committee on all issues that come
before the Department of Homeland Security.
Chairman Portman. But specifically on E-Verify, are you
willing to work with us on strengthening that program?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, I am.
Chairman Portman. The trafficking center was talked about
earlier. We do a lot of work in this Committee on the
trafficking issue. Homeland Security also has responsibility.
As I said earlier, it is one of my priorities. Can you commit
to looking at this issue of elevating the new center out of
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), where it is now, to the
headquarters level?
Mr. Mayorkas. Senator, I would be pleased to look at that
and the capacity of the headquarters to really administer that
most effectively. I would like to study that issue, and I
commit to sharing my findings with you. I understand the
prioritization of that mission set, and whether it belongs in
headquarters or HSI is something I would like the opportunity
to review, should I be privileged to do so.
Chairman Portman. Given the mission, I think it is much
more appropriate that it be at the headquarters level to be
able to be effective, and we can talk about that.
On the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), I have talked to you
about this already. My understanding is that you think the
Secret Service should stay at the Department of Homeland
Security. Is that correct?
Mr. Mayorkas. Yes, it is.
Chairman Portman. My concern, having known a lot of members
of the Secret Service, having been a protectee, is that they
continue to be overworked and undervalued. They have an
enormous strain on them, including right now with regard to
this Inauguration tomorrow.
Would you agree to prioritize from a staffing and budgeting
perspective ensuring that the Secret Service has what they need
to be able to do its mission?
Mr. Mayorkas. I would, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman Portman. We look forward to working with you on
that.
There are a number of issues that connected to today with
regard to anti-Semitism and pushing back against white
supremacists. One of the things that we have done in this
Committee since you were last in government is we have
substantially expanded the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to
help with regard to all kinds of faith-based organizations and
nonprofits, including synagogues and Jewish community centers
and so on that have been under threat in my home State of Ohio.
Specifically, Senator Peters and I led an authorization bill
for the program that we got signed into law just last year. We
also increased the funding this year to $180 million, and
Senator Gillibrand and I are working on some other improvements
to the program.
My question for you is: Are you willing to work with us and
work with our partners around the country--and this is being
done, as you know, through FEMA--to ensure that we have
adequate help for these faith-based communities to be able to
push back against the extremist threat, No. 1? And, No. 2, my
longer-term concern is sustainability. Many of these
organizations are getting grants in Ohio. Frankly, a number
have applied and been successful. But to sustain these programs
over time, whether it is cameras--we have expanded the program
in the last couple years to include security personnel as an
example--or whether it is simply having the ability to fully
guard against these attacks by having the facilities hardened
against potential attacks, the long-term sustainability of
these programs concerns me, and I wonder if you would be
willing to work with us on that as well.
Mr. Mayorkas. I would on both counts, Mr. Chairman. I am
very well aware of the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Under
my leadership and Secretary Johnson's leadership, we increased
it. I am very grateful to this Committee for increasing it
further, and I well understand its needs.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas. Senator Peters.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Mayorkas, thank you for your testimony here, or your
answering questions, I should say, lots of questions. We have
had you here for quite a period of time. You have had a full
range of questions to answer. They have been very thorough,
very thoughtful, and I am just going to keep you here for a
couple more that I would like to have asked before we close out
this hearing.
You have talked about technology and infrastructure
investments. There were a number of questions by my colleagues
that were asked along those lines and how we can secure our
ports of entry. There is no question the Department of Homeland
Security has one of the most difficult jobs you can imagine, as
I think about it, when it comes to border security. One, you
have to keep us safe every day. We expect you to do that. At
the same time, the economic activity that goes across the
borders has to continue and has to happen in a very efficient
manner.
I represent a border State in the State of Michigan. I
oftentimes have to remind some of my colleagues that there is a
Northern Border in this country as well, not just a Southern
Border. In fact, if you look at the ports of entry in Michigan
in terms of the land trade that goes across it, two of the five
busiest border crossings in North America are in Michigan,
between Canada. If Michigan were a country, we would be the
second largest trading partner with Canada, and so we have
demands there and needs. And so my question to you is: We have
to allocate resources. You have a Northern Border that demands
resources, a Southern Border, you have our coastal cities as
well and ports of entry there. How do you see managing that and
making sure there is equitable deployment of resources to deal
with the security threats all across our country, but also the
needs to be able to move trade efficiently across those borders
in a secure fashion?
Mr. Mayorkas. Ranking Member Peters, thank you very much. I
traveled the Northern Border during my tenure as the Deputy
Secretary. I well understand while much attention is given to
our Southern Border, we cannot neglect the other borders--the
Northern Border and, quite frankly, the air and maritime
challenges that we are a country face.
The challenges that the Department of Homeland Security
confronts are many and varied, and the Department needs a
leader who understands them, who works incredibly hard to meet
all of the many and varied challenges, that knows how to
prioritize mission sets, and yet knows how to dedicate
attention and resources to all of the responsibilities that we
as the Department of Homeland Security are obligated to fulfill
on behalf of the American people.
I would respectfully and humbly submit that I am qualified
to do so and that I would work with you and other Members of
this Committee to make sure that all our borders are protected
against the challenges that seek to do us harm and that also
the opportunities that the borders present in terms of the
facilitation and promotion of lawful trade and travel are fully
exploited for the benefit of the American people. I commit to
you that cooperation.
Senator Peters. I appreciate that, and certainly the
threats that we face across all those borders happen daily,
which is why this appointment to this position is absolutely
critical to do it as quickly as possible. We need to have
steady leadership at the Department of Homeland Security. It is
involved in--if you think of all of the demands that we have of
government, what citizens expect from the Federal Government, I
think it is safe to say the No. 1 priority for everybody and
the one that I believe passionately in is to keep us safe. The
Federal Government needs to keep us safe. That is the
Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense
(DOD), and other folks who are engaged in security. But this
position is critical, and hopefully we can fill this as quickly
as possible given the threats that we constantly face.
I am just going to close with one threat that I want your
sense of your experience and your thoughts, and that is
biodefense. We have talked about a lot of other security
defenses, but certainly the pandemic has shown us the threat
that we get from a biological threat that we have to address,
that we have to mitigate. Federal preparations for disease
outbreaks also include things like bioterrorism that could be
used by--not a natural occurrence of a biothreat like this
pandemic, but we could be the subject of a bioterrorist attack
and other biological challenges that all fit within the
Department's responsibilities.
But as you know, biodefense, like so many of your
responsibilities within the DHS, it cuts across many different
Federal agencies. So my question to you, Mr. Mayorkas, is: Can
you speak about what experiences you have had as a Deputy
Secretary that would inform you as to how we should approach
these cross-cutting issues like biodefense?
Mr. Mayorkas. Thank you, Ranking Member Peters. Let me
answer it in two parts.
No. 1, with respect to the Department of Homeland Security,
internally within the Department, I had the privilege of
getting to know the men and women in the Department who focused
on the particular threat of which you speak, and I understand
their qualifications and capabilities, and they were
extraordinary. No. 1.
No. 2, I think you correctly point out that this requires
an all-of-government effort, and it speaks to one of the points
I made in my opening remarks, which is that fundamentally the
Department of Homeland Security is a Department of partnership,
and we must work with our Federal partners and our State,
local, tribal, and territorial partners to meet the threats
that we confront, and that includes the biothreat of which you
speak.
Senator Peters. Thank you, Mr. Mayorkas. Thank you for your
willingness to serve our country once again.
Mr. Chairman, thank you.
Chairman Portman. Thank you, Senator Peters.
Mr. Mayorkas, thank you again for your testimony this
morning, and we appreciate your willingness to serve,
especially at a time when our government works to counter so
many serious threats and future threats, as we have talked
about today.
I also acknowledge that public service is a family decision
and that it involves family sacrifices, so we appreciate your
daughters and your wife being here today and their support of
your decision to return to public service.
Before we end today, a few housekeeping matters. The
nominee has filed responses to biographical and financial
questionnaires, answered pre-hearing questions submitted by the
Committee, and had his financial statements reviewed by the
Office of Government Ethics. Without objection, this
information will now be made part of the hearing record,\1\ and
with the exception of the financial data, which are on file and
available for public inspection in the Committee offices, all
will be available in the record.
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\1\ The information of Mr. Mayorkas appears in the Appendix on page
53.
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The hearing record will remain open until 5 p.m. today,
January 19th, for submissions of statements and questions for
the record.
With that, the hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 12:23 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
A P P E N D I X
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