“Ultimately, the first major evolution in the terrorist threat emerged in the form of the homegrown violent extremist - the individual in America who was radicalized by a foreign terrorist organization's ideology. That became the most prominent terrorism-related threat to the homeland.”

American attorney and government official

Alejandro Mayorkas is an American attorney and government official who served as the seventh United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been a prominent figure in federal immigration and homeland security work. Before leading the department, Mayorkas directed United States Citizenship and Immigration Services from 2009 to 2013. He then served as the sixth deputy secretary of homeland security from 2013 to 2016, roles that placed him at the center of immigration policy and the broader administration of homeland security.