Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) Insults Customs Agent

Gonzalez is a high-ranking supervisor in the Houston office of the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Gonzalez also is part of a group of Hispanic federal agents who are suing the Department of Homeland Security for alleged racial discrimination. He reached out to Cornyn for help in addressing some of the discrimination issues raised in the class-action case -- in part, because the senator appeared to be sensitive to the concerns of Latinos.

Despite his freshman status in Washington, Cornyn has solid connections to the White House. Prior to being elected to the U.S. Senate, Cornyn, a Republican, served as Attorney General of Texas from 1999-2002 — during the administration of Gov. George W. Bush.

A statement posted on the Web site for the Federal Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers Association (FHLEOA) -- for which Gonzalez serves as vice president -- states the following:

Texas senator John Cornyn is a close friend of the president. Senator Cornyn publicly appears to support Hispanic issues, as can be found on his Web site. ...

The FHLEOA statement goes on to point out that last year, Cornyn made very strong remarks about an alleged racial slight of  lawyer Miguel A. Estrada, who at the time was a Bush nominee for a federal appeals-court judgeship. The incident centered on a memo drafted by a Democratic staff member concerning Estrada's nomination to a post on the D.C. Circuit. That memo was later leaked to the media.  

From a story in the Washington Times::

In one memo to Sen. Richard J. Durbin of Illinois obtained by The Washington Times, Washington lawyer Miguel A. Estrada is singled out as "especially dangerous" because "he is Latino." Mr. Estrada, born in Honduras, withdrew his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in September (2003) after being filibustered for eight months.

 ... In the Nov. 7, 2001, memo, the Durbin staffer was recounting a meeting his boss had missed with Mr. Kennedy and "representatives of various civil rights groups."

"Yesterday's meeting focused on identifying the most controversial and/or vulnerable judicial nominees, and a strategy for targeting them," the staffer wrote about the groups present. "They also identified Miguel Estrada (D.C. Circuit) as especially dangerous, because he has a minimal paper trail, he is Latino, and the White House seems to be grooming him for a Supreme Court appointment."

Cornyn's response, according to the Washington Times:

Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said, "Describing Miguel Estrada as 'especially dangerous, because ... he is Latino,' as suggested in these memos, makes my skin crawl."

Given Cornyn's strong reaction to the memo, Gonzalez had every reason to expect the senator would be equally concerned about alleged discriminatory treatment of Hispanic federal agents by the U.S. government.

He was in for a surprise.

In Cornyn’s response to Gonzalez, dated Feb. 27, 2004, the senator not only failed to address Gonzalez’ concerns related to discrimination, he actually insulted Gonzalez by seeking authorization to obtain information on the federal agent’s immigration status.

In a letter posted on the FHLEOA Web site, Gonzalez reacts by writing that Cornyn's reply "demonstrated the obvious bigotry that I and others of Hispanic origin continue to endure."

More from Gonzalez' letter to Cornyn, which is dated April 12, 2004:

I submitted a letter in January 2004 via the internet requesting your assistance relative to discriminatory issues that I have been dealing with the Federal government for the last ten years. When I submitted a request for your assistance, you or your staff's response was to send me a form requesting my immigration status in this country. ... A presumption is made that because I have a foreign sounding name, I am an immigrant or non-immigrant. I identified in my letter that I was born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico sounds foreign it is not and has been part of the United States since 1898. In 1917, by an act of Congress and signed by President Woodrow Wilson, the Jones Act granted Puerto Ricans U.S. statutory citizenship. To further clarify U.S. citizenship, in 1940 Congress granted U.S. citizenship to all Puerto Rican natives.

Upon receiving this letter, I felt demeaned and demoralized when the only inquiry made was in regards to my citizenship. It is obvious that I'm being judged by my Hispanic name and by my place of birth, Puerto Rico. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is no more foreign than Paris, Texas, Moscow, Texas or China, Texas. The names may sound foreign, but they're not.

Later in the letter:

As a Hispanic American in law enforcement entrusted in protecting our national security, I and other Hispanic American citizens have paid, and continue to pay a heavy price in protecting our country. Sometimes the price is unbearable. For example what occurred to Special Agent (SA) John Yera, Department of Homeland Security, Office of Investigations (formerly known as U.S. Customs Service). SA Yera, while working in an undercover capacity investigating narcotics smuggling in New York, was shot and paralyzed. SA Yera, like many of us performed his duties willingly and with dedication without regard to his own safety.

Many other Hispanic American federal law enforcement officers have paid the ultimate price for our country. Special Agent Ariel Rios, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was killed in 1982 while working in an undercover capacity investigating the smuggling of firearms and narcotics. Special Agent George Montoya, Drug Enforcement Administration, was killed in 1988 while working in an undercover capacity while investigating narcotics smuggling. Special Agent Frank Fernandez Jr., Drug Enforcement Administration, was killed along with other DEA agents in 1994 while working a special anti-narcotics mission in Peru. Special Agent Manuel VII Zurita, U.S. Customs Service, was killed in 1998 while piloting a vessel on a presidential protection detail for President Clinton. These are but a few of the dedicated Hispanic American citizens that have paid the ultimate price in proving their loyalty to our country.

... I am concerned that, although many civil rights laws have been passed, Hispanics in Federal law enforcement remain victims of discrimination/retaliation by the same agencies that employ us.

… On May 10, 2002, about 400 Hispanic federal agents filed a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Customs Service for a wide range of discrimination claims. This action was taken after Customs Hispanic agents could not resolve any issues through the administrative process for almost eight years.

It is requested that an independent bipartisan committee be established to investigate and correct the injustice that is occurring in most of our federal agencies. An independent research will find that our issues are genuine.

… I would appreciate you or your staff taking the time to review and act upon my request. I am available to meet with you or your staff to assist you as may be deemed necessary.

A member of Cornyn’s staff did contact Gonzalez by phone several weeks ago, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the case. The staff member reportedly said the senator was upset by Gonzalez’ April 12 letter. Cornyn’s representative also claimed that the request for authorization to check Gonzalez’ immigration status was sent to the federal agent by mistake.

Don Stewart, communications director for Sen. Cornyn, confirmed that the wrong form was sent to Gonzalez, that in fact he should have received a privacy release form authorizing the senator to assist him with his case.

“The immigration form is sent to people seeking assistance with immigration issues,” Stewart explains. “It was sent by mistake. … The girl (on our staff) who is handling this does a couple hundred cases at a time.”

Stewart adds that after the senator’s office was made aware of the error, the correct form was sent to Gonzalez. “It’s a real simple case,” he says.

In fact, according to the law enforcement source, Gonzalez never received a privacy release from Cornyn’s office. Gonzalez ended up downloading a form off the Internet, which he then filled out and sent off to the senator.

“That’s a cop out, that this person handles a couple hundred cases, particularly when you consider the issues facing this country and the fact that federal agents are risking their lives everyday,” the source says. “If there are a couple hundred cases, then how do they prioritize what’s important, by the weight of the paper? To me, it’s another example showing elected officials don’t care, that they just put out a lot of rhetoric, but don’t mean it.”

Gonzalez now hopes that sending a letter to the senator in the first place wasn’t a mistake that will prompt his superiors to retaliate against him, the law enforcement source adds.

After Gonzalez provided Cornyn’s office with the privacy release he downloaded from the Internet , the senator sent him the following letter, dated April 20, 2004:

Dear Mr. Gonzalez:

In response to your recent request for my assistance, I have contacted the appropriate officials at the Department of Homeland Security (Gonzalez’ employer). I will write you again as soon as I receive a reply.

I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate and to be of service in this matter.