Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Mendez v. Westminster decision which ended segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students in California schools, and for other purposes;.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend

the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 721) recognizing the 60th anniversary of the Mendez v. Westminster decision which ended segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students in California schools, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be permitted to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials for the Record.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 721 recognizes the 60th anniversary of the Mendez v. Westminster School District decision which ended segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students in California schools and honors the Mendez family. I want to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) for introducing this important resolution, which I am proud to cosponsor.

As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, this decision has special meaning for me. Like the parents in the Mendez case, my parents understood the importance of education in the realization of the American Dream. Thanks to their efforts and encouragement, all seven of their children have excelled, earning college and advanced degrees.

The Mendez decision really marked a turning point in the effort to win full rights for all Californians of Mexican descent. While the court ruled on narrow grounds that California law did not authorize the school district to create separate so-called ``Mexican schools,'' the importance and effect of that decision went much further.

The words of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit are worth repeating. ``By enforcing the segregation of school children of Mexican descent against their will and contrary to the laws of California, the school district may have violated the Federal law as provided in the 14th amendment to the Federal Constitution by depriving them of liberty and property without due process of law and by denying to them the equal protection of the law.''

Seven years later, the Supreme Court would finally put an end to the discredited doctrine which allowed school segregation based on the fiction of ``separate but equal'' schools in the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education. The author of that decision, Chief Justice Earl Warren, had, as Governor of California, responded to the Mendez decision by signing into law a repeal of the last remaining school segregation statutes in the California Education Code.

This resolution also honors the Mendez family and congratulates Sylvia Mendez for her continued efforts to keep alive the importance of this case and the impact it had on her future. It is important that we not forget the courage of this family. They took a stand against the prevailing system of segregation in the public schools and won a tremendous victory, not just for themselves, but for many others.

I am a beneficiary of their courage and their achievement. The story of the Mendez family struggle against segregation took place in Westminster, Orange County, just a few miles from where my siblings and I grew up, played soccer, and attended schools. If the Mendez family had not challenged the status quo, and if I had not grown up in a post- Mendez Orange County, it would have taken me many more years to reach the floor of this House, if I ever reached it at all.

School segregation in California was just one facet of the widespread discrimination that Americans of Mexican descent faced across the Southwest, from the Gulf coast to the Pacific coast. Hotels, restaurants, barbershops, public pools, movie theaters, and even maternity wards were segregated for those of Mexican heritage. It was very common to see signs that said ``No Mexicans served,'' or ``Mexicans and dogs not allowed.''

The injustice of discrimination was most appalling in public education. In the 1930s, more than two-thirds of the Orange County students of Mexican descent were considered mentally retarded. When the Mendez children were turned away from the 17th Street white school in their hometown, they were sent to the Hoover Elementary School, which was the Mexican school, a rickety, wooden building on a dirt lot. Adding insult to injury, many of such Mexican schools operated half days during walnut picking season to accommodate local agribusiness demand for child labor.

Mr. Speaker, there are forces in our society today who believe that the causes of school integration, of diversity, no longer matter. Some believe that fighting segregation might even violate our Constitution. That is just plain wrong.

The Supreme Court in Brown correctly found that separate cannot be equal. As we reflect on this anniversary of the Mendez decision, we must renew our determination to fight injustice and the forces of intolerance. Our Nation will continue to benefit from our diversity.

I join the Members of this House in commemorating this important milestone in our Nation's history and honoring the Mendez family for their courage, their strength, and their contribution to the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the distinguished gentleman from Utah for his kind words, and at this time I would like to yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas and the author of this bill, Mr. Gonzalez.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman and my sister, Loretta Sanchez.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to say H. Res. 721 appropriately honors the courage of the Mendez family to challenge discrimination and help open the doors of opportunity to all nonwhites through education.

I want to thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gonzalez) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Cannon) for their work on this resolution recognizing the 60th anniversary of the historic Mendez v. Westminster decision, a decision that laid the groundwork for the Supreme Court ruling of Brown v. Board of Education. Again, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, today I rise to recognize Eleonor Velasquez, an intelligent and hard-working woman who has been on my staff from June 2003 until August 2007. During her tenure in my office, Eleonor was an asset to me and the constituents of the 32nd District of California. Eleonor's hard work, dedication, and skills are the reasons why I promoted her twice during her time in the office: from staff assistant to legislative correspondent in 2004 and from legislative correspondent to legislative assistant in March 2005.

Eleonor immigrated to the United States from Peru when she was just 13 years old. Her experience as a young woman assimilating to the United States provided her an invaluable perspective on issues such as immigration, education, trade, and Latino issues. Eleonor's fluency in Spanish has been of great service to my office since over half of my constituents do not speak English as their first language at home.

Eleonor has demonstrated a keen grasp of the complex issues involved in the ongoing immigration debate in the House of Representatives. Eleonor coordinated a number of sign-on letters and drafted Dear Colleague letters about immigration, trade, and education. Recently, Eleonor drafted a letter to President Bush expressing deep disappointment regarding the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' (USCIS) increased fee structure for naturalization and asking him to work with Congress to create a fairer system.

During her time in my office, Eleonor spearheaded two pieces of legislation: H. Res. 721 (109th Congress), a resolution supporting the goals and ideals of a Salvadoran-American Day (El Dia del Salvadoreno); and H.R. 5161 (109th Congress), a bill to establish a commission to study the removal of Mexican-Americans to Mexico during 1929-1941. H. Res. 721 recognized all Salvadoran-Americans for their hard work, dedication, and contribution to the stability and well-being of the United States, and was co-sponsored by 55 Members of Congress. The resolution was passed by the House of Representatives on July 18, 2006. H.R. 5161 was not considered in the 109th Congress, but its introduction was very important to the families of the 2 million individuals of Mexican ancestry who were forcibly removed to Mexico during the Depression, as many as 1.2 million of whom were United States citizens.

As the liaison in my office to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Eleonor has gained a wealth of institutional knowledge about issues important to the Caucus over the past 4 years. Eleonor began her tenure on Capitol Hill as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) fellow in the office of Congressman Jose Serrano. She has been an active member of the CHCI alumni association and mentored other Latino young men and women who came through the program to work on Capitol Hill and in the private sector on public policy issues.

While I am sad to see Eleonor leave, I am confident that the future will bring her much success. I wish Eleonor and her family good health and best wishes. I join my staff in my Washington, DC, El Monte, and East Los Angeles offices in wishing Eleonor the best of luck in all of her future endeavors. Buena suerte, Eleonor!

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 721, which recognizes the 60th anniversary of Mendez v. Westminster decision, which ended the segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students in California schools.

I would like to take a moment to thank the gentlewoman and chairman of the Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee for her statement. She and her sister, who is also on the floor with us today, are remarkable people. They may have come to Congress under even different circumstances, but it is good for America that this impediment was removed from their lives and the lives of many other people of Mexican and Mexican American descent here in the United States.

All Americans should understand that, along with Brown v. Board of Education, many Federal court decisions signaled our country's shift away from the obnoxious principle of ``separate but equal.'' One such decision was Mendez v. Westminster in which the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, in a decision by the full court, held that the segregation of Mexican and Mexican American students into separate so-called ``Mexican schools'' was unconstitutional.

That decision in 1945 vindicated the rights of a group of children of Mexican American fathers, Thomas Estrada, William Guzman, Frank Palomino, Lorenzo Ramirez, led by Gonzalo Mendez, who challenged the practice of school segregation in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles and began a journey that led Mexican Americans nationwide to greater equality.

Those courageous and loving fathers stood for themselves and for some 5,000 others, all citizens of the United States of Mexican descent. As the court held: ``By enforcing the segregation of school children of Mexican descent against their will and contrary to the laws of California, respondents have violated Federal law as provided in the 14th amendment to the Federal Constitution by depriving them of liberty and property without due process of law and by denying to them the equal protection of the laws.''

Following that decision, in 1947 California Governor and future Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren signed into law a repeal of the last remaining school segregation statutes in the California Education Code.

Before those loving fathers brought the case of Mendez v. Westminster, there was a crack in the American melting pot. Their courageous actions repaired that crack, brought all Americans closer, and brought America closer to her most cherished ideals.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to associate myself with the remarks of Ms. Loretta Sanchez as she spoke of the importance of this remembrance today. It is important as Americans that we look back and understand. Life was not always as it is now. It has been different. America is a better place, and this bill is one that commemorates why we are a much better place today. I urge support of the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the chairwoman for the 5 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, this historic case took place in my hometown and I get to represent that area of central Orange County. The case is really about many families. The Mendez family was the first family in the brief. It was also about many areas of Orange County, not just Westminster. It covered the central portion because in those days, of course, there were the white schools and there were the Mexican schools.

Now the Mexican schools were interesting because it wasn't just Mexicans who went there. It was anybody who looked different. Japanese Americans went there. Native Americans went there. Black Americans went there.

And the case in point was that when the Japanese family was interned and was able to hold onto their property by having Gonzalo Mendez farm it, he began to make more money and so he was in a position to hire lawyers, a lawyer out of Texas and a lawyer out of Los Angeles, to come and fight the issue of why do some children go to the white school and some go to the Mexican school.

You see, when Sylvia's aunt took her children and Sylvia down to the school that day, now that they had moved to a new property where they could farm, when they went down the block to the local school, the children of the aunt were allowed to go to the school because they were lighter in skin. But Sylvia was darker in her complexion, and she was told that those children must go to the Mexican school across town. And having taken these children back with her and saying that was not fair, the discussion went on in the family. And Felicitas, I know, like any mother and any wife would do, sat up all night and shook her husband Gonzalo and said: You're making money now, this isn't fair, do something about it. And that is how they came together as families to put forward such an important decision. And Thurgood Marshall was part of that, representing the NAACP at the time. And, in turn, when we were able to change the law in California, that law was part of the basis for Brown v. Board of Education at the national level.

Why do we pass such a resolution today? Because we have to keep reminding ourselves of our history and of the importance of change and what that means. I will tell you why. Sylvia Mendez, the darker daughter who was not allowed in the school, the very case around her, she didn't even know that this had occurred. Sylvia read it in college in a history book. And as she was reading it, she said, Could that be me and could that be my parents? And why didn't they ever tell me about it?

This is the reason we remember, so that all children across our Nation will

understand that all of them will get the opportunity that is America.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, it is a momentous day. Sixty years ago, there was a brave young lawyer named David Marcus who took a very unpopular case to court that basically was the dress rehearsal for Brown v. Board of Education.

This whole situation was borne of discrimination which was sanctioned and promoted and recognized by the government. You would say, what does that all mean?

The family of the Munemitsus, Japanese Americans, owned a certain piece of property. They grew asparagus on about 40 acres in Westminster, California. They were absent from that property as a result of a government directive. They were Japanese Americans; and, of course, we had the Japanese American internment camps. They were shipped off, dispossessed. The Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez family were given an opportunity to then lease the properties, a great opportunity, borne of a discriminatory act. Gonzalez had fled the Mexican Revolution in 1916, and like many of our grandparents, came to this country seeking a new life. Their daughter, Sylvia, as my colleague, Congresswoman Linda Sanchez has already pointed out, wanted to go to a certain school but California law specifically prohibited Japanese Americans, Mongolian Americans, and Asian Americans from attending school with white children.

But it left out African American and Mexican American children; and believe it or not, that really is what the court did hang its hat on. So we have a Japanese American family and a Mexican American family, and Earl Warren comes into the picture because he is Governor of the great State of California. As Ms. Sanchez pointed out, a few years later he did away with those particular laws of separate but equal. Thurgood Marshall actually has a little-known role in this case because he filed a brief in support of Dave Marcus' brief seeking that this law would be held unconstitutional. But as I pointed out, it was held invalid for another reason, as far as it pertained to Sylvia and the other Mexican American children.

The lesson for all of us here is when you discriminate against one, you discriminate against all. Whether it is Japanese Americans, Mexican Americans, it does not matter. One country under God. And we hear this often enough when we pledge our allegiance. But really, truly, 60 years ago it took the Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez family to give true meaning and breathe life into that dream. And because of them, I truly believe you see Members of Congress here today with the names of Sanchez and Gonzalez.