New London ― U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Coast Guard Academy graduation, the Coast Guard announced Wednesday.

The academy’s 142nd Commencement is scheduled for 11 a.m. May 17 at Cadet Memorial Field and is not open to the public.

During the ceremony, Mayorkas will “congratulate the cadets, the newest generation of Coast Guard leaders, on their hard work and dedication, and wish them fair seas and following winds in their future endeavors,” according to a Coast Guard news release.

A native of Cuba, Mayorkas served as director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and then deputy secretary in the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration. He has been in his current position since February of 2021.