79S30175 KO-D

By:  Rodriguez                                                    H.R. No. 56 



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Former Austin resident Leo Anchondo received the 
first Ed Wendler Award for Service to the Immigrant Community from 
Casa Marianella in March 2006; and
	WHEREAS, The award is named for the late Ed Wendler, Sr., an 
Austin attorney, lobbyist, and civil rights activist who donated to 
the Catholic Diocese of Austin the Casa Marianella facility, a 
Gunter Street home that serves as a shelter for Latin American 
refugees and immigrants in the Capital City; and
	WHEREAS, Mr. Anchondo served as director of the Office of 
Immigrant Concerns for Catholic Charities of Central Texas, an 
agency he established and developed in order to keep families 
together and to reunite those separated due to immigration laws; he 
was also appointed to the City of Austin Commission on Immigrant 
Affairs; and
	WHEREAS, Before coming to Texas in 2001, Mr. Anchondo earned 
a bachelor's degree in political science and psychology at Colorado 
University in Denver; he subsequently obtained certification from 
Oxford University as a non-English ESL/EFL instructor and 
accumulated 10 years of experience teaching English as a second 
language, citizenship, and employability skills, as well as a 
decade of immigration legal representation experience; the 
director of the Immigration Department and the coordinator of the 
Family Education Department for Catholic Charities of Central New 
Mexico for several years, this esteemed professional has helped to 
lead several organizations, including the Latin American 
Association for Development, the Albuquerque Human Rights Office, 
and Organizacion Latinos Unidas in New Mexico and the League of 
United Latin American Citizens in Denver; and
	WHEREAS, Today, Mr. Anchondo serves as director of the 
Catholic Bishops' Justice for Immigrants Campaign in Washington, 
D.C., an initiative that promotes comprehensive immigration reform 
and links more than 20 national Catholic organizations in educating 
citizens about Catholic social teachings on migration; and
	WHEREAS, In Texas and beyond, Leo Anchondo has worked 
diligently to further the civil and human rights of immigrants and 
to build a more just and compassionate society, and his selection as 
the first recipient of this prestigious award is an apt reflection 
of his commitment to this worthy cause; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby congratulate Leo Anchondo 
on his receipt of the first Ed Wendler Award for Service to the 
Immigrant Community from Casa Marianella and commend him for his 
many years of dedication to enhancing and expanding the 
opportunities available to immigrants; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 
prepared for Mr. Anchondo as an expression of high regard by the 
Texas House of Representatives.