A diverse range of Latino leaders have pressed the U.S. Senate to commit to hearing and voting on whoever President Barack Obama nominates for the Supreme Court.

Latinos United for Fair SCOTUS Hearing

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 Latino advocacy organizations, and the Hispanics for a Fair Judiciary (HFJ), a non-partisan group of elected officials, civil rights, labor and legal officials, addressed the impact affecting the Latino community if the Senate fails to consider any Supreme Court nominee this year.

According to Hector Sanchez, the NHLA chair and executive director for the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) during a press call on Tuesday morning, any vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court matters to the Latino community and that is why Latino leaders have been engaged and united in calling for the Senate to do its job by considering the nominee that Obama puts forward.

Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel for the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF) and NHLA vice chair, noted the Latino voter turnout for Obama in both 2008 and 2012 elections.

"In playing that significant role in the election of this president, the Latino community expected that he would perform the duties of the president for a full four-year term, not for three years and one month or three years and two months, which is the rule that the Senate seems to be implying to this president, at least in respect to his power and his obligation to appoint justices to the U.S. Supreme Court," said Saenz, adding that there is no legal argument that the Supreme Court pick should wait until the next U.S. president.

Robert T. Maldonado, president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), said in a statement that the U.S. Constitution outlines roles and responsibilities for each government branch, designed to serve the Americans people and to protect against the divisional politics that would threaten the democratic process.

Sanchez said the NHLA and HFJ will make sure senators hear their voices, particularly Senate leadership and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and they want to make sure Latinos are heard and represented in the Senate. He said the NHLA and HFJ's goal is to also ensure senators follow their constitutional duties regardless who is nominated.

Pressure from Congressional Latinos

Hearings and voting for a judicial nominee is a task for the Senate, but Latinos in the House of Representatives have called on its fellow legislative body to consider whoever Obama nominates. Earlier this month, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairwoman Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., said the GOP's refusal to fill the vacancy shows their hypocrisy, since Republicans are adamant in defending the Constitution.

"Republican obstructionism knows no limits. They claim to love the Constitution and then stand in the way of upholding it," said Sanchez earlier this month. "Once again, Republicans are playing politics instead of doing what's right for our country. There are several cases critically important for Latinos before the Supreme Court this year and without a ninth Justice, the Latino community has so much to lose."

Sanchez added that the CHC supports a swift nomination of a Supreme Court justice who will keep the interests of Latinos and all minority groups in mind.

On March 2, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the only Democratic Latino in the Senate, also spoke in favor of the president naming a nominee this year.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has fully recognized that Obama has a right to nominate someone, but noted the Senate, too, has a constitutional right to provide or withhold consent.

Despite Republican opposition, Obama said he will proceed and eventually deliver a nomination.

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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