Current Position: White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs (since January 2009)
Credit: Dayna Smith/TWP
Why She Matters
Amidst the piles of papers strewn on Munoz’s old office was a framed cover of the Village Voice featuring the Statue of Liberty with a black eye. She’s holding a banner that reads “Immigrants, Get Out!”
The cartoon is emblematic of what Munoz has opposed during her entire professional career. The civil-rights advocate has long fought for immigrant rights and better treatment for Hispanic Americans, taking on President Clinton’s welfare reform and conservative attacks on amnesty programs for illegal immigrants. It is a skill she learned from her Bolivian father, who rounded up friends to send letters to Congress to opposed various bills.
A former organizer who has never served directly in government, Munoz will bring her passion and organizing skills to the White House as director of intergovernmental affairs, where she will work with municipal and state governments. Munoz’s appointment was praised by the left, but has been ferociously attacked by the right. A guest host on Rush Limbaugh’s show described Munoz as an “amnesty fetishist” and blogger Doug Ross accused Munoz of “seeking the overthrow of the U.S. government.”
She is now one of the highest-ranking Hispanic officials in the White House.
At a Glance
Current Position: White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs (since January 2009)
Career History: Diocese of Chicago, immigration advocate (1984 to 1988); National Council of La Raza, executive vice president (1988 to 2009)
Birthday: 1962
Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Alma Mater: University, of Michigan, BA, University of California at Berkely, Masters
Spouse: B/A
Religion: Roman Catholic
Office: N/A
Email N/A
Web site N/A
Path to Power
Munoz was born in Detroit in 1962. Her parents, who were immigrants from La Paz, Bolivia, moved so Munoz’s father could attend the University of Michigan. Munoz attended the same school nearly two decades later, where she studied English and Latin American studies. She also tutored imprisoned Hispanic Americans.
After graduate school at the University of California at Berkeley, Munoz moved to Chicago to help the Diocese of Chicago legalize undocumented immigrants. “I was working 14-, 16-hour days. It was intense,” she told the Detroit News in 1997. “I had a real sense of obligation not to mess up.” But Munoz also said she faced sexism from some priests, discrimination that ultimately led her to reconsider her role with the Catholic Church.
In 1988, Munoz moved to the National Council of La Raza, a Hispanic-rights organization. “I decided I wanted to be part of a Latino institution,” she told the News. “I can go to a meeting on the Hill where I'm the only Latino, have someone say something awful to me, and when I come back to the office, I don't have to explain why it was offensive.”As senior vice president, Munoz ran the organization’s advocacy and legislative agenda.
She won a MacArthur fellowship in 2000 for her work. She said at the time that she would put her $500,000 grant toward the work sponsored by La Raza.
Munoz was one of Obama’s top advisers on immigration issues during the 2008 campaign. She was appointed as director of intergovernmental affairs in January 2009. In that role, she will spearhead communications between the White House and state and local governments. "Munoz will be the advocate for the needs of our states, counties, towns and cities across America," Rep. Joe Baca (D-Ca.), the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Council, wrote in a press release.The Issues
Munoz has centered her advocacy work on fighting for the rights of Hispanic Americans. “The line between anti-immigrant and anti-Latino is pretty thin,” Munoz told The Washington Post in 2000. “The day when my kids can walk down the street and be called American, that's the goal.”
She has been described as the person to call when television stations need an immigration expert. “She's a ferocious advocate, a very powerful spokesperson," Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, told the Detroit News. "She is as tough and determined an advocate as you can find … she doesn't back down an inch.”
Immigration
Munoz believes that immigrants have contributed significant benefits to the U.S., and she backed a report that found undocumented workers added as much as $10 billion to the economy. She has criticized those who call for stronger border protections or who would like to deport illegal immigrants. Those groups “try to find out what people in a certain area are concerned about and then try to link those concerns to immigration,” she told the Arizona Republic.
She supported parts of the 2007 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act, particularly the measure that would have created a clear path to citizenship to illegal immigrants. However, La Raza wrote it would not support any bill unless it included “a path to citizenship for the current undocumented population; the creation of new legal channels for future immigrant workers; a reduction of family immigration backlogs; and the protection of civil rights and civil liberties.”
Discrimination Against Hispanics
One of the most pervasive issues facing Hispanics in America is suspicion and discrimination, Munoz argues. One of her biggest frustrations is hearing about Latinos from border states whose families have lived in America for generation but who are treated as foreigners. “It gets old … we’re tired of being treated as if we don’t belong here,” she told The Detroit News.
Munoz has experienced discrimination in her own life. In 1997, she was invited to a White House briefing. But before the event, she was twice asked whether she was a U.S. citizen. Though the White House said the question had been added to the screening for all guests, two other invitees were not asked. “I hit the ceiling,” Munoz told The Washington Post at the time. “I have smoke coming out of my ears, I'm so mad.” Munoz quickly brought attention to the alleged slight, calling The Washington Post and convincing them to write a story.
Welfare Reform
One of Munoz’s most successful campaigns was against a 1996 welfare reform bill signed into law by President Clinton. The measure cut food stamp benefits and Supplemental Security Income for legal immigrants. The National Council of La Raza sprung into action, launching a campaign to chronicle the impact of the cuts on immigrants. The effort was ultimately successful – almost a year later, Clinton adapted the legislation, restoring some of the SSI funding. He did not, however, reinstate the food stamp benefits.
The Network
Munoz was part of President
Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign. She advised him on Hispanic relations along with Cuauthemoc Figueroa and has worked with Secretary of Labor-designate
Hilda L. Solis.
