Hinojosa Statement on Federal Court Redistricting Ruling

Hinojosa Statement on Federal Court Redistricting Ruling

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15) today issued the following statement on the federal court ruling in support of Texas redrawn Congressional districts:

"Today is a sad day for all Texans, especially Hispanic Texans, because we now know that we can go nowhere and turn to no one for protection of our rights. The three-judge federal panel in one action has made injustice a legal mandate, violated communities of interest, gutted the Voting Rights Act, and diluted our constitutional right to elect representatives from our community, for our community.

"Today, the federal court hearing the redistricting case, in a split decision, rejected each and every claim by the plaintiffs against the redistricting plan drawn in the last legislative session.

"This plan splits communities where Texans have built, over generations, long-established business relationships, familial ties, and, most importantly, people who have a history with one another. We call them our friends and neighbors. To those who drew this map, so much of what makes us Texans meant little.

"This map merges communities of diverse interests, drastically diluting their federal representation. This map destroys the right of countless minorities across our state to elect their representative of choice and invalidates the progress our civil rights leaders worked so hard to forge over the last 100 years.

"In the end, it is my sincerest hope that the nine esteemed ladies and gentlemen of the U.S. Supreme Court will hear our call for justice and overturn this ruling announced by the three-judge federal court in Austin, Texas."