| Thomas E. Perez | |
|---|---|
| 2009 Official portrait | |
| Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Wan J. Kim |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 7, 1961 Buffalo, New York |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Ann Marie Staudenmaier |
| Children | Amalia, Susana and Rafael |
| Residence | Takoma Park, Maryland |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. An American politician, consumer advocate and civil rights lawyer, Perez had served as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR) from January 2007, when he was appointed to that position by Governor Martin O'Malley, until his October 2009 confirmation by the United States Senate as Assistant Attorney General.
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Born in Buffalo, New York, Perez received an A.B. in international relations and political science from Brown University in 1983, a J.D. cum laude in 1987 from Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government also in 1987.
Perez has spent his entire career in public service. He began his law career as a law clerk for Judge Zita Weinshienk of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado from 1987 to 1989.
Perez spent 12 years in federal public service, from 1989 until 2001. He spent the bulk of his federal public service at the United States Department of Justice. He was a federal prosecutor for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. In so doing, he prosecuted and supervised the prosecution of some of the Department's most high profile civil rights cases, including a hate crime case in Texas involving a gang of white supremacists who went on a deadly, racially motivated crime spree directed at African Americans. He later served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights under Attorney General Janet Reno. Among other responsibilities, Perez chaired the interagency Worker Exploitation Task Force, which oversaw a variety of initiatives designed to protect vulnerable workers.
From 1995 until 1998, Perez served as Special Counsel to Senator Edward Kennedy, and was Senator Kennedy's principal adviser on civil rights, criminal justice and constitutional issues. For the final two years of the Clinton administration, Perez served as the Director of the Office for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
From 2001 until 2007, Perez was a professor at the University of Maryland School of Law, where he taught in the school's nationally recognized clinical law and law and health program. Perez is currently a part-time member of the faculty at the George Washington School of Public Health.
From 2002 until 2006, Perez was a member of the Montgomery County Council. In this capacity, he represented 175,000 residents in Silver Spring, Kensington, Takoma Park and Wheaton. Perez was the first Latino ever elected to the Council, and served as Council President in 2005.
On March 31, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Perez to be Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice.[1] The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Perez's nomination on April 29, 2009, and on June 4, 2009, the committee voted 17-2 to send Perez's nomination to the full Senate. According to Main Justice, an independent, non-partisan news Web site, Perez's nomination languished for several months amid questions by Republican senators about his record on immigration matters and by controversy over the Obama Justice Department's dismissal of a voter intimidation case against the militant New Black Panther Party.[2] Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat, Vermont) characterized the opposition as foot-dragging and "posturing for narrow special interests."[3] The full United States Senate ultimately confirmed Perez on October 6, 2009 in a bipartisan 72-22 vote. Only two Senators spoke out against the nomination: Tom Coburn (Republican, Oklahoma) and David Vitter (Republican, Louisiana).[3]
One focus of his tenure will be an increase in regulations to expand the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act.[4]
A Buffalo native, graduate of Canisius High School, Perez lives in Takoma Park, Maryland with his wife Ann Marie and their three children, Amalia, Susana and Rafael.