[Senate Hearing 117-380]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     S. Hrg. 117-380

                NOMINATION OF HON. ALEJANDRO N. MAYORKAS

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                              BEFORE THE

                              COMMITTEE ON
               HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS


                             FIRST SESSION

                               ----------                              

                            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
        

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                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
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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

                                 ------                                
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

                              ----------                              


                       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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    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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