PRESS RELEASE December 19, 2013

National Latino Coalition Urges Senators to Back Alejandro Mayorkas as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security

In Advance of a Much-Anticipated Vote, Latino Groups Note that all Votes Related to the Nominee will be Scored

Washington, D.C. -- Today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of the nation's 36 preeminent national Latino organizations, issued the letter below to members of the United States Senate outlining their support for Alejandro Mayorkas, President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the number two slot at the Department of Homeland Security. The letter also notes that all votes related to Mayorkas' confirmation will be scored in NHLA's Score Card for the Latino Community on the 113th Congress.

The final vote to confirm Mayorkas on the Senate floor is expected this evening or tomorrow morning. Mayorkas was first nominated to serve as Deputy Secretary of DHS in June. Last week, the Senate's Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee voted to advance his nomination to the full Senate floor for a vote with a 9-0 vote.

If confirmed, Mayorkas will join Labor Secretary Thomas Perez and Office of Personnel Management Director Katherine Archuleta as one of the highest-ranking Senate-confirmed Latino appointees in the President's second-term administration.

NHLA's prior statements and letters in support of Mayorkas are posted at http://nationalhispanicleadership.org/confirmmayorkas.

Full text of today's NHLA's letter is online here and reads as follows:

December 19, 2013

United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: The Confirmation Vote for Alejandro Mayorkas, Nominee to Serve as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security

Dear Senators:

On behalf of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of the nation’s 36 preeminent national Latino organizations, we write to respectfully urge your leadership in voting to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as the Deputy Secretary of United States Department of Homeland Security this week.

Given the importance of DHS and this position, it is our intent to score any votes associated with this nomination in our NHLA Congressional Scorecard on the 113th Congress. The NHLA Congressional Scorecard rates members of Congress on votes taken in the House and Senate that our membership deems important to the social, economic, and political advancement and quality of life of Hispanic Americans.

Nominated by President Barack Obama in June of this year, Mr. Mayorkas has our full support. He exemplifies the great talent pool the Latino community can offer the Executive branch and has the highest qualifications to serve the office and our nation. Once confirmed, we are confident that Mr. Mayorkas will continue his passion for public service and offer the same high level of leadership he has contributed in his leadership role as Director of the Office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). We again offer you his qualifications:

• Nominated by President Obama in April 2009 to be Director of USCIS, he was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in August 2009. As the Director of the USCIS, Mayorkas was charged with overseeing the largest immigration system in the world, and is responsible for an 18,000 member workforce throughout more than 200 offices worldwide and oversees a $3 billion annual budget.

• He served as a member of O’Melveny & Myers’ worldwide governing Policy Committee and as Chair of the firm’s Values Awards Committee and the Warren Christopher Scholarship Committee. In 2008, the National Law Journal recognized Mayorkas as one of the “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America.”

• In 1998, Senator Dianne Feinstein recommended Mayorkas to be the United States Attorney for the Central District of California. Nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the United States Senate, he became the youngest U.S. Attorney to serve the nation at that time. Mayorkas led an office of 240 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and oversaw the prosecution of cases of national and international significance. He served as the Vice-Chair of the Attorney General’s Advisory Subcommittee on Civil Rights and as a member of the Subcommittee on Ethics in Government.

• From 1989 to 1998, Mayorkas served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. Between 1996 and 1998, he additionally served as Chief of the Office’s General Crimes Section overseeing the training and trial work of new Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Criminal Division. Throughout his twelve years as a federal prosecutor, he received numerous awards and commendations from federal and local law enforcement officials and agencies. With the Latino community continuing to be at the center of the historic policy debate around immigration reform, this Administration and Congress cannot afford to be without the unique perspective and voice of Latinos in the Department of Homeland Security and at the highest levels of government.

We urge you to move beyond partisan politics in your consideration of an exceptionally qualified nominee and vote to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as the next Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Sincerely,

Hector E. Sanchez, National Hispanic Leadership Agenda Chair and Labor Council for Latin American Advancement Executive Director

Brent Wilkes, National Hispanic Leadership Agenda Co-Chair and League of United Latin American Citizens National Executive Director

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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. In January of 2013, the coalition launched its new Latino Appointments Program to identify and support junior to Cabinet-level Latino candidates pursuing presidential and state-level appointments. For more information, please visit www.latinoappointments.org and follow @NHLAgenda.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: | Melody Gonzales | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 | | Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

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