LOS ANGELES - The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) today issued the following statement commending the nomination of Tom Perez to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice:

“The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), the nation’s preeminent Latino leadership organization, commends President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder for the nomination of Tom Perez to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice.

“Tom Perez is exceptionally qualified to lead the Division of the Department of Justice responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination, and particularly statutes that protect the voting rights of all Americans.  

“We look forward to working closely with Mr. Perez on the issues central to the lives of Latino citizens.

First, we hope Mr. Perez will make stronger enforcement of voting rights protections a top priority for the Civil Rights Division.   This includes the Division’s efforts to enforce state and local compliance with all of the provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), including the requirement that certain jurisdictions provide language assistance to those Latino and other language-minority citizens who are not fully proficient in English, and the VRA’s Section 2 prohibitions against discriminatory practices.

“Second, ensuring that the Civil Rights Division carefully scrutinizes state redistricting efforts following the 2010 Census.  This includes the implementation of California’s Proposition 11, a flawed ballot measure opposed by leading civil rights groups that creates a redistricting commission to draw state electoral boundaries. 

“Third, we urge Mr. Perez to demonstrate leadership at the Division in strengthening enforcement of federal voter registration and election reform laws to eliminate unfair barriers in the electoral process.”