For Immediate Release
October 9, 2002

Excerpt from the President's Remarks at the White House Event for Hispanic Heritage Month

Click here for full transcript.

"one of My Jobs as Well Is to Make Sure Our Bench Is Strong. I've Named a fantastic Hispanic American to the bench, a young guy named Miguel Estrada. I named him to one of the highest courts possible, to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. It's an incredibly important appointment. He's well qualified. He is very smart. He came to our country from El Salvador, he couldn't speak English. He's now been picked, amongst all the candidates, to take on this highest of high positions in the bench. He's having trouble in the United States Senate.

"There are some senators -- certainly not Senator Hatch, who is one of his strongest advocates -- there are senators who are paying politics with this good man's nomination. There are senators who would rather not give him the benefit of the doubt; senators looking for a reason to defeat him, as opposed to looking for a reason to herald his intelligence, his capabilities, his talent. I strongly object to the way this man is going to be treated in the Senate. I urge the Senate to confirm the nomination of Miguel Estrada."

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