Xavier Becerra: “In pointing out that the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has taken an explicit position against him…”

“In pointing out that the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has taken an explicit position against him, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) is absolutely right, that MALDEF has been at the forefront of issues affecting Latinos, and if anyone understands what the courts have meant to minorities and to the Hispanic community specifically, it is MALDEF; and having, I assume, tried to piece together whatever information they could get about this controversial nominee, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has taken a position opposed to this controversial nominee. I, with great respect, listened to what MALDEF says because they have been at the forefront. The gentleman mentioned Lau v. Nichols; Plyler v. Doe, which dealt with education, the basic right of education; Bakke v. U.C. Board of Reagents, which dealt with diversity in our universities and colleges; MALDEF, they are at each one of those cases. We need to know. What will happen when we have a court that is very divided on choice for women, where one vote could turn the situation in America on the Supreme Court, where we are right now debating whether there will be diversity in our institutions of higher learning before the United States Supreme Court? All of these things matter. The decisions made by the Senate to confirm or not an individual matter, because they will have an impact.…”