He said 'erecting more border fence drives a wedge between border communities which are culturally united'. In July 2013, Vela quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus because of his opposition to the Hoeven- Corker Amendment that tied border security to a pathway to citizenship. In the general election, Vela defeated Republican Jessica Bradshaw, 62% to 36%. In the July 31 runoff, Vela defeated Denise Saenz Blanchard, 67% to 33%. In the May 29 primary, he ranked first in an eight-candidate field with 40% of the vote. Vela ran in the newly created 34th congressional district as a Democrat. Main article: 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 34 Landmark, he represented the district in fighting contractors accused of building a poorly constructed school facility. In Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District v. Landmark, Vela represented Edinburg to fight for more funding. Vela earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas at Austin School of Law in 1987. He also served as an intern in Solomon P. During his time at Georgetown, he served as an intern at the Federal Judicial Center, the research and education agency of the federal judicial system. įilemon attended Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, and earned his Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University in 1985. His mother, Blanca Sanchez Vela, served as Brownsville's first female mayor from 1999 to 2003. Vela United States Courthouse in Brownsville is named in Judge Vela's honor. His father, Filemon Vela Sr., was a long-serving United States federal judge. Vela was born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised in nearby Brownsville. In March 2022, Vela resigned in the middle of his term to work at Akin Gump, the largest lobbying firm in the U.S. Vela was also vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, having been nominated by President Joe Biden.

representative for Texas's 34th congressional district from 2013 until his resignation in 2022. ( / ˈ f ɪ l ə ˌ m ɒ n ˈ v ɛ l ə/ FILL-ə-monn VELL-ə born February 13, 1963) is an American lobbyist, lawyer and politician who served as the U.S.

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