National Immigrant Heritage Month Spotlight: Alejandro Mayorkas

As part of our celebration of National Immigrant Heritage Month, Visa Business Plans would like to highlight the accomplishments of an immigrant who is not only extremely successful but is also using his success to help others: Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

The first immigrant and first Latino to be Secretary of the DHS, Mayorkas has an inspiring immigration story of his own. After Mayorkas’ mother fled Romania during the Holocaust, she went to Cuba, where she met Mayorkas’ father. Seeking greater opportunity, their family then came to the U.S. when Mayorkas was a child.[1] This background gives Mayorkas a unique insight into the lives of immigrants.

After serving eight years as a federal prosecutor, Mayorkas became the youngest U.S. attorney in the nation. He then served as Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and later as Deputy Secretary of the DHS. During his time with DHS, he developed and implemented DACA[2] (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), helping to delay removal action against and provide work authorization for individuals who came to the U.S. as children.[3]

Most recently, Mayorkas was sworn in as Secretary of the DHS on February 2, 2021, by President Biden.

Today, Mayorkas is working to bring change to USCIS. In a statement dated March 16, he explained his goals to “keep our borders secure, address the plight of children as the law requires, and enable families to be together.”[4]

Mayorkas stresses the U.S.’ responsibility to reform immigration practices lawfully, humanely, and efficiently. He has already ended the practice of expelling unaccompanied minors, signed a new Memorandum of Agreement for promoting the timely and safe transfer of immigrant children to vetted sponsors, and created a new Customs and Border Protection facility in Donna, Texas. He is also restarting and expanding the Central American Minors program, which creates a lawful pathway to the U.S. for children.[5]

According to Mayorkas, over 80% of unaccompanied minors have a relative in the U.S., and for over 40% of them, that relative is a legal guardian. As part of his belief that families should be kept together, Mayorkas wants to reunite unaccompanied minors with these relatives.[6]

Alejandro Mayorkas is a stellar example of the hard work and innovation that immigrants bring to the U.S. Happy National Immigrant Heritage Month!

Visa Business Plans is led by Marco Scanu, a certified coach from the University of Miami with a globally-based practice coaching Fortune 1000 company executives, entrepreneurs, as well as professionals in 4 different continents. Mr. Scanu advises clients on turnaround strategies and crisis management.

Mr. Scanu received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude) from the University of Florida and an MBA in Management from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Mr. Scanu was also a Visiting Scholar at Michigan State University under the prestigious H. Humphrey Fellowship (Fulbright program) with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital and high-growth enterprises.

At present, Mr. Scanu is the managing partner and CEO at Visa Business Plans, a Miami-based boutique consulting firm providing attorneys and investors with business planning services in the areas of U.S. and Canadian immigration and SBA loans.