Mi Familia Vota’s Ben Monterroso says Neil Gorsuch won’t be a ‘check to the radical actions’ of President Trump
As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to question Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, Mi Familia Vota (MFV) urges the senators to dig deep into his criticisms against vulnerable communities that turn to the courts to correct abuses by the powerful.
Judge Gorsuch’s record and past writings that favor wealthy and corporate interests against workers, women, the disabled, immigrants and others, must be fully explored during the hearings next week, said Ben Monterroso, MFV’s executive director, in the following statement:
Neil Gorsuch
“When Judge Gorsuch was first introduced to the American public as Trump’s nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, his supporters promoted him as a likable guy. I don’t have a problem with that. I do have a problem with senators using his likable personality to cover up his record that is not friendly to Latinos, immigrants, workers, women, the disabled, and clean air and water for our communities. A life-time appointment to the Supreme Court is too serious to be treated like a popularity contest.
“Trump set out to nominate a Supreme Court Justice to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia who would be true to Scalia’s approach to the law. For MFV, which works year round on civic engagement and seeks to restore voting rights that were gutted by the Supreme Court by Scalia in 2013, the comparison to Scalia is very troubling.
“In Scalia’s likeness, Gorsuch has often ruled against the rights of immigrants, regardless of their legal status. He has favored the influence of money in elections and has consistently put company profits ahead of the well-being and safety of workers, even in life and death situations.
“The power of the Supreme Court goes beyond partisanship. The most important question senators can ask Judge Gorsuch at the end of the day is whether he will be impartial and fair, and use his power as a Supreme Court Justice to serve as check to the radical actions undertaken by Trump. Will Judge Gorsuch uphold the U.S. Constitution or will he simply follow Trump’s lead?
“Those are questions the Senate has the responsibility to ask and get answers to, regardless of political affiliation, during the upcoming confirmation hearings. We will be watching for serious answers, because our lives depend on it.”
Mi Familia Vota is a national non-profit organization that unites Latino, immigrant and allied communities to promote social and economic justice through increased civic participation by promoting citizenship, increasing voter registration, and increasing voter participation. Mi Familia Vota is one of the premiere Latino civic engagement organizations in the country with operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada and Texas. For more information visit www.mifamiliavota.org
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