Rochelle Mercedes Garza
Rochelle Garza | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights | |
| Assumed office March 17, 2023 | |
| President | Joe Biden |
| Preceded by | Norma V. Cantu |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1984 or 1985 (age 40–41) |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Brown University (BA) University of Houston (JD) |
Rochelle Mercedes Garza (born 1984/1985)[1] is an American attorney from Brownsville, Texas, who currently serves as one of the five Commissioners on the United States Commission on Civil Rights.[2][3] She is a civil rights attorney who practices family law, criminal defense, Immigration law, constitutional law and is the president of the Texas Civil Rights Project.[4] In 2017 a federal notice was named after her because of her work in a notable reproductive rights case.
She was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 Texas Attorney General election.
Early life and education
[edit | edit source]Garza was raised in Brownsville, Texas. Both of her parents were public school teachers. Her father became a teacher, a lawyer and then served South Texas as an elected State District Judge for 21 years.[5] Garza earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Brown University in 2007 and her Juris Doctor from University of Houston Law Center in 2013.[6]
Career
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Garza was a staff attorney for the ACLU.[7] Garza became a managing partner of Garza & Garza Law, PLLC.[8] Garza was a board member at Moody Clinic (January 2018 – January 2020), Director of the Cameron County Bar Association (May 2018 – December 2021), Chair at the Ethics Advisory Committee, City of Brownsville, Texas (January 2021 – July 2021) and a board member at Jane's Due Process since February 2019.[9] On January 26, 2023, Garza was announced as president of the Texas Civil Rights Project, a civil rights litigation and advocacy organization for voting rights, immigration and criminal justice work.[10]
Notable cases
[edit | edit source]Garza represented a 17-year-old girl who came to the United States without her parents, and who resided in a government-funded shelter in Texas. The Trump administration would not allow her to leave the shelter to get an abortion.[11][12][13] In 2017 the "Garza Notice", requiring that access to reproductive care be provided to teenagers housed in federal immigration detention facilities, was named after her.[14]
Attorney General election
[edit | edit source]In 2022, Garza was the Texas Democratic Party nominee for Attorney General. Garza won the runoff election, becoming the first Latina nominee for Texas attorney general.[15]
Garza was unsuccessful in the general election against Republican Ken Paxton.[16] Garza received 43.7%, 3,482,909 votes while Paxton received 53.4%, 4,268,826 votes.[17]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Garza grew up in a Catholic household. According to her mother, she was crowd-surfed to Pope John Paul II at eight months old and blessed by the Pope. Her brother, Robby, experienced a brain injury during childbirth that resulted in disabilities and he died before she went to college.[18]
References
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