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March
12 ,
2003, 10:30 a.m.
Estrada
& the Dream
A
former Honduran presidential candidate and U.S. citizen questions
the obstruction.
An NRO Primary Document
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Senator Orrin Hatch March, 2003
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Hatch:
I continue to be troubled by the vicious attacks and falsehoods being
hurled at Miguel Estrada on a daily basis by those who wish to obstruct
a vote on his nomination. Like Mr. Estrada, I too, am Honduran-American.
I know and admire him, and I know much about his life growing up in Honduras.
Miguel Estrada is truly the personification of the "American Dream."
Those who know him know that he is a modest gentleman, and does not talk
easily about himself. In fact, he would probably rather I not extol his
virtues at all. Indeed, his humble roots should not be relevant to his
nomination proceedings. I believe that President Bush nominated him not
because he is Hispanic, and not because he immigrated to the United
States and fulfilled the American dream. The President recognized that
Miguel Estrada was a truly exceptional lawyer who will serve our country
well.
Day after day, Senator, I have been listening to a handful of Members
of Congress, and various others from special interest groups allege that
Estrada is not the man that President Bush and his supporters maintain
he is. At first, I was keeping a list of who said what, and when it was
said; but it simply got to be too much to record each and every contention.
So I have compiled a simple chart for your use. The first column contains
the basic myths that have been leveled over and over again at Mr. Estrada,
and the second column counters with the actual truth.
As a former Presidential candidate in Honduras, and a permanent U.S Resident
now living in the Washington, D.C. area, I can assure you that those of
us who have spent much of our lives fighting to achieve genuine rule of
law in Honduras (and in other countries), fail to understand why Mr. Estrada
is being so maliciously maligned — merely because he has not revealed
enough of his personal opinions. In countries where there has been a real
struggle to have an independent judiciary, we have long admired the fact
that U.S. judges are generally apolitical.
Hondurans would give everything to have a judge like Estrada who has
an outstanding record upholding the Constitution.
Sincerely,
René Fonseca
MYTHS VS.
FACTS ABOUT MIGUEL ESTRADA
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WHAT
HAS BEEN SAID OR IMPLIED
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THE
REAL FACTS
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The opponents claim that "Miguel Estrada comes from a wealthy
Honduran family…"
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"Let's not try to make this a rags-to-riches story because
it was not."
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Republicans have attempted to portray Estrada as ``a Latino Horatio
Alger.''
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``He didn't come from a poor, disadvantaged background,'' La Ramee
said. ``He came from a background of relative privilege."
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•
Miguel Estrada immigrated to the USA at 17. He was merely gifted.
He left Honduras because he knew there was little future for him
there.
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He lived in a five-room house (counting kitchen) in a lower-middle
class neighborhood.
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His father paid the equivalent of $9000 U.S. dollars in 1972 for
their home.
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His mother left Honduras when Miguel was 8 years old. She originally
came to the U.S. as a secretary, and worked her way up to a professional
level after 15 years.
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| •
They assert that Miguel Estrada attended a private school in Honduras
for elitist, rich families. |
• Miguel
attended a Catholic school in Honduras (not even bilingual), and
paid an average of $15 (U.S. dollars) to attend. The school was
for lower, middle class families.
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| •
Opponents allege that Miguel Estrada's father was an affluent lawyer. |
• His father
was a modest, but decent lawyer. He was a company lawyer for a time,
and then moved outside the capital, and practiced private law, in
a one-room office, in a poor area of town.
• When
Miguel came to the U.S., his father was 49 yrs. old, and earning
a salary of about $6000 (U.S. dollars) per year.
• His father,
Jesús Estrada did not even leave enough money to pay the
Hospital (Centro Médico) bill when he died. Miguel was already
working for a law firm, and paid his father's hospital bill.
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It has been repeated that "He was not editor of the Law Review…" |
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Estrada was the Editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1984-1986, when
at Harvard Law School |
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Opponents say that Miguel's Father was a Bank Vice- President in Honduras |
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His father was never a bank V.P., and never even worked in a bank. |
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Opponents claim Estrada is not a "real Hispanic."
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"He does not appreciate the interests of poor people.
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"His family came from the Honduran elite."
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"The ``Latino Horatio Alger story that's been concocted'' about
Estrada's success and, more generally, about the ``concocted, invented
Latino imagery'' of Estrada's life."
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How could one be more Hispanic? He was born and raised in Honduras,
and immigrated to U.S. speaking no English.
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He joined no Hispanic associations, because he did not have time.
He came to the U.S. to study, and try to have a better life.
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