Photo:FaH
Text: Cuba News 360 Newsroom
Cuban-American Julieta Valls Noyes has been appointed by the United States Senate as the State Department’s new Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration.
“Only in the United States could a refugee daughter become Assistant Secretary of State for Refugee Policy. I’ll allow myself a few silent tears of gratitude, but then I’ll roll up my sleeves and get to work,” the official said on Twitter.
Only in America could the daughter of refugees become deputy secretary of state responsible for refugee policy. I allow myself a few silent tears of gratitude, but then I roll up my sleeves and get to work. https://t.co/8xCiB93y9r
— Julieta Valls Noyes (@JVNoyes) March 24, 2022
A 1984 graduate of Wellesley University and the daughter of Cuban refugees, Valls was appointed by President Joe Biden in June 2021 and confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on March 24.
The diplomat served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2013 to 2015 and Deputy Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2013.
“Thank you for the great support. In my excitement, I overlooked other wonderful nations where refugees and their families also had opportunities to help others. I’m sure they were just as grateful for that as I was. I look forward to working with all partners on this important work,” added Vall Noyes.
From 2008 to 2011 Valls was chargé d’affaires and deputy director of the US Mission to the Holy See in Rome. Several media outlets are highlighting his appointment as Vice Consul in the border city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. In 1987 she was transferred to the Embassy in Guatemala City before serving in the diplomatic delegations of Panama and Spain.