Alejandro Mayorkas in Biden campaign vs. Biden administration
On Crime:
Fighting cybercrime requires international cooperation
According to the FBI, the reported losses tied to cybercrime exceeded $4.1 billion last year alone. The Secret Service arrested more than 1,000 people for cyber-financial crimes and prevented over $2 billion in potential fraud losses.
Many of these crimes are transnational in nature and require international cooperation to address. We must align our foreign policy priorities and international partnerships accordingly.
Ransomware now poses a national security threat. Those behind these malicious activities should be held accountable for their actions. That includes governments that do not use the full extent of their authority to stop the culprits. We must
condemn them for it and remind them that any responsible government must take steps to prevent or stop such activity. We will do everything we can to prevent and respond to these horrendous acts. And we call on others around the world to do the same.
Source: DHS press release: 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 31, 2021
On Technology:
Cybersecurity needs government/private sector partnership
The government does not have the capacity to achieve our nation's cyber resilience alone. So much of our critical infrastructure is in the private sector's hands. We need to work with the private sector to protect the interests of the
American people and the services on which we rely. This underscores a need for the federal government to modernize cybersecurity defenses and deepen our partnerships.
We must fundamentally shift our mindset and acknowledge that defense must go hand in hand with resilience. Bold and immediate innovations, wide-scale investments, and raising the bar of essential cyber hygiene are urgently needed to improve our
cyber defenses. While one can reduce the frequency of incidents through modernized defenses, ultimately it is not a question of if you get hacked, but rather when. We must therefore also bolster our capacity to respond when incidents do happen.
Source: DHS press release: 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 31, 2021
On Homeland Security:
Domestic violent extremism greatest terrorism-related threat
We are very focused on domestic violent extremism. It is the single greatest terrorism-related threat that we face in our homeland. We are focused on gathering intelligence and information and sharing it in actionable form with our state, local,
tribal and territorial partners. We are working with the office of civil rights and civil liberties in addressing the challenges with the social media companies to stop the violence that is born of ideologies of hate.
Source: ABC This Week interview : 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 21, 2021
On Families & Children:
Get children to vetted sponsors while awaiting proceedings
DHS and HHS terminated a 2018 agreement that had a chilling effect on potential sponsors--typically a parent or close relative--from coming forward to care for an unaccompanied child placed in an HHS shelter. In its place, DHS and HHS signed a new
Memorandum of Agreement that promotes the safe and timely transfer of children. It keeps safeguards designed to ensure children are unified with properly vetted sponsors who can safely care for them while they await immigration proceedings.
Source: DHS press release: 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 16, 2021
On Immigration:
Restarting & expanding the Central American Minors program
We are encountering many unaccompanied children at our southwest border every day. A child who is under the age of 18 and not accompanied by their parent or legal guardian is considered under the law to be an unaccompanied child.
We are encountering six- and seven-year-old children, for example, arriving at our border without an adult. They are vulnerable children and we have ended the prior administration's practice of expelling them.
We are restarting and expanding the Central American Minors program. It creates a lawful pathway for children to come to the United States without having to take the dangerous journey.
Under this expansion, children will be processed in their home countries and brought to the United States in a safe and orderly way.
Source: DHS press release: 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 16, 2021
On Welfare & Poverty:
US will no longer defend 2019 "public charge rule"
Mayorkas announced that the government will no longer defend the 2019 public charge rule as doing so is neither in the public interest nor an efficient use of limited government resources."The 2019 public charge rule was not in keeping with
our nation's values. It penalized those who access health benefits and other government services available to them," said Mayorkas. "Consistent with the President's vision, we will continue to implement reforms that improve our legal immigration system."
Source: Homeland Security Today: 2021 Biden Administration
Mar 10, 2021
Page last updated: Jan 17, 2022