Nation IN BRIEF : TEXAS : Thomas’ Record on Latino Rights Scored

The president of the National Council of La Raza said civil rights law enforcement for Latinos was a “sham” while Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas headed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the 1980s. Raul Yzaguirre told the group’s national convention in Houston that the EEOC under Thomas dismissed Latino complaints at a far higher rate than it did cases involving blacks and women, and litigated far fewer Latino cases. Citing a La Raza review of the EEOC record, he said that if statistics can show discrimination, “the EEOC itself is guilty of discrimination against the Hispanic community.”