DANR Applauds Confirmation of Tom Perez as Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Civil Rights Division

The Dominican American Roundtable (DANR) applauds the confirmation of Thomas E. Perez as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. He will head the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez

 ”On behalf of the DANR National Board of Directors, I am very proud to say that today is a great day for America, for Hispanics and Dominicans in particular,” said Nestor Montilla, DANR President. “As the child of Dominican immigrants his confirmation is a source of pride to all Dominican Americans.”

Although his confirmation was delayed for months, the U.S. Senate approved him today with a vote of 72 to 22 to head the civil rights division of the Department of Justice .

“Tom is a staunch defender of civil rights with a history of continuous work of excellence that makes him a nationally recognized civil rights lawyer and consumer advocate,” stated Montilla.

Tom Perez’ father, a doctor, fled the Dominican Republic’s Rafael Trujillo dictatorship and was drafted into the U.S. Army even though he wasn’t a U.S. citizen. Meanwhile, Tom’s mother was also fleeing Trujillo because her dad, the Dominican ambassador to the United States, criticized the dictator. The two exiles met and married, settling in Buffalo, N.Y., where Dr. Perez worked in a veteran’s hospital and where Tom, one of five children, was born. Then, when Tom was only 12, a fatal heart attack struck his dad, leaving young Tom with a deep appreciation for the brevity of life and the importance of time. Ever since he’s lived a break-neck career while keeping in shape (three Boston marathons), taking his anti-cholesterol meds and coaching his kid’s basketball and baseball teams. Tom’s brains and hustle won him scholarships to Brown University (he worked in the dining hall) and Harvard Law School where he graduated cum laude. Next he won a degree at Harvard’s Kennedy School, clerked for a federal judge and, then, went to work for the U.S. Department of Justice as a civil rights prosecutor. For seven years, he traveled the country busting wrongdoers such as the South Bay Nazi Youth for randomly shooting blacks in Lubbock, Texas; corrupt Oakland, Calif., cops who were stealing drugs and cash from dealers; and a federal Border Patrol agent who murdered an illegal immigrant.

From 1988 to 1995, he worked on U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s staff and was then appointed director of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Meanwhile, back in Montgomery County, he helped establish CASA, the Latino advocacy organization, and got involved in local politics.

He served in the Clinton administration as Director of the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and was a strong advocate for cultural competence in all HHS programs, and he helped to secure an Executive Order that significantly improved access to services for people with limited English proficiency. As a member, and later President, of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors from 2002 to 2006, he led efforts to make health care more accessible to the county’s residents, including the uninsured, and securing discounted prescription benefits.

The Dominican American National Roundtable would like to commend President Barack Obama for having the vision and certainty to nominate Perez to lead DOJ’s civil rights division.

Established in 1997, The Dominican American National Roundtable is a non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for the empowerment of Dominicans in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Territories. Based in Washington, DC, the DANR is the first and only national organization advocating on behalf of the over one million Dominican Americans in areas concerning education, health, economic development, immigration, and civic empowerment at the national level. The DANR National Conference is the only conference in the United States that brings together Dominicans from around the country under one roof for the purpose of community empowerment.