The Senate confirmed Ur Jaddou as the new director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services today on a 47-34 party-line vote.
Nineteen senators were not present for the vote. All of the votes in favor of confirmation came from Democrats, and all of the votes against confirmation were Republicans.
“It is my honor to congratulate Ur Mendoza Jaddou on her confirmation as Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said. “Ur has two decades of experience in immigration law, policy, and administration. She will administer our Nation’s immigration system fairly and justly. As the daughter of hard-working immigrants, Ur understands how immigrant families enrich our country and the challenges they face. I want to thank the United States Senate for confirming Ur. I look forward to working closely with her to rebuild and restore trust in our immigration system.”
Biden picked Jaddou, who led the Biden transition team reviewing DHS, in April to lead USCIS. She was most recently director of DHS Watch, a project of America’s Voice, and is an adjunct professor of law at American University, Washington College of Law and counsel at Potomac Law Group, PLLC.
Jaddou served as chief counsel for USCIS from June 2014 to January 2017. She served as counsel to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) from 2002-2007 and as chief counsel to the House Immigration Subcommittee chaired by Lofgren from 2007-2011. Jaddou served as the deputy assistant secretary for regional, global and functional affairs in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs at the State Department from 2012-2014.
California-born Jaddou is a daughter of immigrants – a mother from Mexico and a father from Iraq.
