(Filemon Vela’s Facebook)
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, a Democrat from Texas, took aim at Donald Trump today in a blunt open letter. Vela, 53, called Trump a “racist,” adding, “You can take your border wall and shove it up your ass.”
In his open letter to Trump, Vela called the idea of building a wall along the border with an ally and trading partner “frankly astounding and asinine.” Vela also defended U.S. District court Judge Gonzalo Curiel, who is handling lawsuits against Trump University. Trump has repeatedly said that Curiel might not handle the cases fairly because he is of Mexican descent, even though Curiel was born in Indiana.
Here’s what you need to know about Vela and his career.
1. His Family Has Been in the U.S. Since 1857
(Filemon Vela’s Facebook)
In his letter to Trump, Vela said that his great-great grandfather arrived in the U.S. in 1857 and that his grandchildren fought for the U.S. in both World Wars. Vela also said that his father served in the Army and was a federal judge.
Filemon Vela Sr. was born in Harlingen, Texas in 1935 and died in 2004. President Jimmy Carter nominated him as judge for the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas. Vela’s mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, was also the first female mayor of Brownsville.
2. He’s the First Representative for Texas’ 34th District
Pictured Left to right, with Nancy Pelosi in the center: Rep. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX); Sister Norma Pimentel, Executive Director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande; Mayor Tony Martinez of Brownsville, Texas; and Rep. Filemon Vela (D-TX) (Getty)
Vela is the first representative for his district, which was created after the 2010 census, which granted Texas two more Congressional districts. Vela’s district covers the Southern Texas coast along the Gulf of Mexico and borders Mexico. It includes Vela’s hometown, Brownsville.
Vela also graduated from Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville. While he did attend Georgetown University in Washington, DC, he returned to Texas to attend the University of Texas School of Law.
3. He Once Quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Over Border Patrol
Border fence at Tijuana (Getty)
In 2013, Vela made headlines by resigning from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. As the Houston Chronicle reports, he disagreed with the caucus’ support of a Senate immigration bill that would have spend millions on adding to border security.
“Erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united,” Vela said at the time.
However, the caucus later said that it would not endorse the legislation. Vela was eventually welcomed back into the caucus.
4. His Wife, Rose, Is a Retired Judge
(Filemon Vela’s Facebook Page)
Not only was his father a judge, but Vela’s wife, Rose Vela, was a judge. She was a Justice on the Texas Court of Appeals and left in 2012.
Interestingly, she made news herself in 2009, when she applied for a seat on the Texas Supreme Court. According to a Associated Press report at the time, Vela was asked to support then-Governor Rick Perry’s campaign for re-election instead of his rival. Eva Guzman was named to the seat and her campaign consultant insisted at the time that it was her qualifications that earned her the position.
5. He Supports a Pathway to Citizenship in Immigration Policy
(Filemon Vela’s Facebook Page)
Vela has said that he supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. In fact, in his letter to Trump today, Vela noted that right-leaning U.S. Chamber of Commerce “agrees that these workers deserve a national immigration policy that would give them a pathway to citizenship.”
Vela also said in 2013, “Simply put, those who would condition immigration reform on a trigger of border security simply oppose a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented workers and their families currently in the United States.”
