Judge Albert Armendariz
Historical Summary
Albert Armendariz, Sr. (born August 11, 1919) was an El Paso native, lawyer, judge, and prominent civil-rights leader whose career was devoted to combating racism and advancing the rights of Mexican Americans and other Hispanics. A graduate of El Paso High School, he studied pre-law at Texas Western College and, after serving in World War II, earned his law degree from the University of Southern California on the G.I. Bill.
Over four decades of public service, Armendariz became a major figure in Hispanic civil-rights advocacy. Elected national president of LULAC in 1953, he helped expand the organization beyond Texas into other states. He participated in the landmark 1954 Supreme Court case Hernandez v. State of Texas, which recognized Hispanics as a distinct class protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, and he was also a founding member and national president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
In El Paso, Armendariz served on the Civil Service Commission in the late 1950s and 1960s, where he worked to increase Hispanic representation in the police and fire departments. In 1967 he received the Bronze Award from President Lyndon B. Johnson for helping formulate the Chamizal Treaty, which resolved a century-long border dispute between the United States and Mexico. During the 1970s he represented MALDEF in Alvarado v. El Paso Independent School District, a significant school-discrimination case.
Armendariz later served as an administrative judge for the Immigration and Naturalization Service from 1976 to 1985 and then as a judge on the Texas Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit. His civic service included work on numerous local boards, and he received many honors for his legal and civil-rights achievements. In 2008, El Paso commemorated his legacy by naming its new federal courthouse the Albert Armendariz, Sr. United States Courthouse.
Document Transcription
Hall of Honor
2014
Judge Albert Armendariz, Sr.
El Paso native and civil-rights leader Albert Armendariz, Sr. spent a career fighting racism and promoting civil rights as a lawyer and as a member of the League of United Latin American Citizens as well as other groups.
Armendariz was born on August 11, 1919. He was a 1934 graduate of El Paso High School. He studied pre-law at Texas Western College (now The University of Texas at El Paso) and following World War II attended the University of Southern California Law School on the G.I. Bill. Prior to joining the service during the war he worked as a shoe salesman and auto mechanic.
For four decades Armendariz served El Paso. In 1953 he was elected LULAC national president. During his term, the nation’s oldest Hispanic civil rights group expanded from a mostly Texas-based group to other states, such as New Mexico and Colorado. He took part in a 1954 U.S. Supreme Court case, Hernandez v. The State of Texas, a case that established Hispanics as a distinct class entitled to equal protection under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. He was a founding member and national president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was on the El Paso Civil Service Commission, helping to bring more Hispanics into the police and fire departments.
In 1967 Armendariz received the Bronze Award from President Lyndon B. Johnson for his work formulating the Chamizal Treaty, which ended a century-long border dispute between the United States and Mexico. During the 1970s he represented the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) in a historic case about discrimination in public schools, Alvarado v. the El Paso Independent School District. From 1976 to 1985 he was an administrative judge for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He then became a judge of the Texas Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit.
Armendariz served on many boards and received many honors. He served on the El Paso Community Chest, Child Welfare Board, El Paso Diocesan School Board, El Paso Sanitation Board, and the Catholic Welfare Board. Among his many honors are the following: Conquistador Award, the highest honor bestowed by the City of El Paso; Texas Bar Association’s Outstanding 50 Year Lawyer Award; Lifetime Achievement Award in Civil Rights from the Paso Del Norte Civil Rights Project; LULAC Lifetime Achievement Award; outstanding alumnus at the University of Southern California; Legend of Texas by Del Webb Sun City in Georgetown, Texas; recognition of leadership in the practice of law and in helping protect the most vulnerable by El Paso Catholic Diocese Bishop Armando X. Ochoa.
Former El Paso Mayor Carlos Ramirez nominated Armendariz for the Legend of Texas Award and said of him, “He is a citizen of El Paso who came from very humble beginnings and has done a lot for our community. I cannot begin to number the endeavors he’s been involved with. He’s left a very positive mark on our community that I believe will be recognized by many others.”
El Pasoans did honor him in September, 2008, when they named their new Federal Courthouse, The Albert Armendariz, Sr. United States Courthouse.
