[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 123 (Friday, August 7, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9094-S9095]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                    Nomination of Alejandro Mayorkas

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes today to 
speak about Mr. Mayorkas' record and what I believe he will bring to 
the Department of Homeland Security as Director of U.S. Citizenship and 
Immigration Services. I have known Mr. Mayorkas for many years and am 
proud to have recommended him to President Clinton for the position of 
U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
  As U.S. attorney, Mr. Mayorkas developed an innovative program to 
address violent crime by targeting criminals' possession of firearms, 
prosecuting street gangs, and at the same

[[Page S9095]]

time developing afterschool programs to help at-risk youth discover and 
realize their potential.
  Mr. Mayorkas has also worked directly on dozens of cases and overseen 
hundreds of attorneys relating to immigration during his tenure as a 
U.S. attorney. These cases included the prosecution of individuals and 
rings producing false immigration documents, illegal reentry cases, and 
alien smuggling conspiracies, among others.
  For example, in 1999, at the very beginning of his career as U.S. 
attorney, Mr. Mayorkas prosecuted the ringleader of an Iranian visa 
forgery operation connected to terrorism. Bahram Tabatabai pleaded 
guilty to providing material assistance with immigration papers to 
members of the People's Mujahadeen, a group that the State Department 
considers a terrorist group. Tabatabai helped overseas foreign 
nationals obtain fake birth certificates and records to apply for 
benefits and created false persecution stories for Iranians in the 
United States to apply for asylum.
  Mr. Mayorkas also prosecuted Jesse Gardona who at the time was a 15-
year veteran of INS--for his role in moving 10 undocumented immigrants 
from an INS detention facility to an East Los Angeles drop house and 
demanding as much as $1,800 in ransom from their relatives.
  The mission of Citizenship and Immigration Services is to establish 
immigration services, policies, and priorities to preserve America's 
legacy as a nation of immigrants while ensuring that no one is admitted 
who is a threat to public safety. Mr. Mayorkas has a record of working 
to secure our Nation's criminal and immigration laws in the face of 
increasing gang and border violence--and as travel documents have 
become less secure, to work to ensure that fraud is no longer prevalent 
in our immigration system.
  I am confident that under Mr. Mayorkas' leadership, this 
administration will work to preserve and increase the integrity of our 
immigration laws by decreasing fraud and bringing accountability to our 
immigration system.
  It is also my belief that Mr. Mayorkas has the vision to lead 
Citizenship and Immigration Services in the other half of its mission--
to preserve the role of America as a compassionate Nation that treats 
families and children at our shores humanely and with an eye toward the 
potential they bring to our Nation. In 1960, Mr. Mayorkas and his 
family fled Cuba and came to the United States as refugees. Since then, 
he has lived the American dream and has done so by working on behalf of 
the American people.
  Mr. President, with the nomination of Mr. Mayorkas the administration 
has taken a significant step toward rebuilding public confidence in the 
secure, fair, and effective administration of our Nation's immigration 
laws. I urge my colleagues to confirm Mr. Mayorkas today so that DHS 
will have the leadership in place to get to work on behalf of the 
American people.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate proceed 
to Calendar Nos. 415 and 418 and that the nominations be confirmed en 
bloc, the motions to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc, no 
further motions be in order, and any statements relating to the 
nominations be printed in the Record and President Obama be immediately 
notified of the Senate's action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The nominations considered and confirmed en bloc are as follows:


                         department of commerce

       David J. Kappos, of New York, to be Under Secretary of 
     Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United 
     States Patent and Trademark Office, vice Jonathan W. Dudas, 
     resigned.


                         department of justice

       David Edward Demag, of Vermont, to be United States Marshal 
     for the District of Vermont for the term of four years, vice 
     John R. Edwards.

                          ____________________