January 6, 2005

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens reaffirms its strong support of the nomination of Alberto Gonzales to serve as Attorney General and is calling upon the Senate to confirm him as the nation’s first Latino to head the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Based upon the nominee’s long and distinguished legal career which includes serving as the President’s chief counsel, a justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and Texas Secretary of State; LULAC is confident that Alberto Gonzales will make an outstanding Attorney General who will guide the Department of Justice to uphold the civil rights of all Americans while protecting us from those who would do us harm. 

“Anyone who has had the opportunity to work with Alberto Gonzales has come away impressed with his integrity, tremendous legal mind and commitment to treat everyone with fairness,” stated Hector M. Flores, LULAC National President. “We may not agree with Mr. Gonzales on every issue and where we’ve disagreed, Mr. Gonzales took the time to carefully consider our position before coming to his conclusions.” 

LULAC will seek to work closely with Gonzales should he be confirmed.  Accordingly, LULAC expects that Gonzales will uphold the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to ensure that Latinos are protected from discriminatory election practices and make certain that everyone participates in our democracy.  LULAC asks that Gonzales work to enforce and reauthorize Sections 5 and 203 of the Voting Rights Act during his tenure. 

“We are proud that President Bush has seen fit to nominate such an accomplished and thoughtful Latino to the highest legal post in the federal government,” added Flores. If confirmed, Gonzales will be the first Latino Attorney General and the first Latino to head one of the four major Cabinet departments. “The confirmation of Alberto Gonzales will be a landmark achievement for Latinos who remain the only underrepresented minority in the Federal Government,” stated Brent Wilkes, LULAC National Executive Director. “The son of farm workers, Gonzales will bring a better understanding of the challenges facing low-income working class Americans to the Department of Justice than any previous Attorney General.”  Accordingly, we expect Gonzales to reevaluate any use of local and state law enforcement in the implementation of federal immigration law.  LULAC’s national platform states that there should be a separation between local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement.

Born in San Antonio and raised in Houston with seven brothers and sisters, Gonzales served in the US Air Force and received his JD from Harvard Law School. In addition to his outstanding legal career, he has been deeply involved with the Hispanic community, serving as Director of Catholic Charities, Director of Big Brothers and Sisters, President of the Houston Hispanic Bar Association, and President of the Houston Hispanic Forum. In 2003, he was awarded the LULAC President’s Award at the LULAC National Legislative Awards Gala in Washington, DC for his commitment in supporting Latino issues as White House Counsel. 

Alberto Gonzales has served as counsel to the President during the past four years which witnessed an unprecedented terrorist attack on the United States and the government’s subsequent efforts to do all it could to protect our homeland from further attack. During the post 9/11 period, Gonzales acted with distinction rendering opinions on difficult issues with the goal of safeguarding America. In hindsight, some Senators may not agree with every opinion Mr. Gonzales participated in and to his credit, Mr. Gonzales has been willing to go back and revise some of those opinions where appropriate.  In view of this, it is entirely appropriate for Mr. Gonzales to be queried about his positions on the use of torture and the rights of prisoners as well as other civil rights questions.  

“The Senates’ role is to advise and consent about Judge Gonzales’ fitness to serve as Attorney General and there is no question that he is as eminently qualified, balanced, and principled a nominee as the Senate is likely to see,” stated Ray Velarde, LULAC National Legal Advisor. “It would be terribly disappointing to the Hispanic community if Alberto Gonzales’s nomination was bogged down with the partisan brinkmanship which has increasingly sabotaged confirmation proceedings over the past 12 years.” 

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is the oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States.  LULAC advances the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health, and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs run by more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide

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