Ana E. Hernandez (born August 25, 1978) is a Democratic member of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

. Since her election in 2005 (in a special election filling the unexpired term of Rep. Joe Moreno, who was killed in a car crash in May 2005), she has represented District 143, part of Houston including areas of Magnolia, Manchester, Port Houston, Cimarron and Denver Harbor, the cities of Galena Park and Jacinto City, and portions of Pasadena and Channelview.Representative Ana E. Hernandez

Personal life and education

Hernandez was born in Reynosa, Mexico. She was brought to the US while still an infant, as her parents had work

visas Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

. Her parents overstayed their visas, but Hernandez became a

permanent resident Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

and eventually a citizen after the

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA or the Simpson–Mazzoli Act) was passed by the 99th United States Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on November 6, 1986. The Immigration Reform and Control Act altered U.S ...

. Hernandez was raised in

Pasadena, Texas Pasadena () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 151,950, making it the twentieth most populous city in the state of Texas, as well as the second-largest cit ...

, where she attended Sam Rayburn High School. She earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

, majoring in political science and psychology. She then attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, earning a J.D. Hernandez has one son. Hernandez attended a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F ...

summer internship in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, and also studied abroad in China and Sydney, Australia.

Career

Before being elected herself, Hernandez worked for Texas state representatives Jessica Farrar and Joe E. Moreno, and also interned for state senator

Rodney Ellis Rodney Glenn Ellis (born April 7, 1954) is an American politician. He represented Texas' 13th state senate district in the Texas Senate from 1990 to 2017. The district contains portions of Harris County, including downtown Houston, and Fort Ben ...

. Hernandez was first elected to the

in a special election in 2005. Hernandez is a member of the County Affairs Committee and the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. Hernandez strongly supported the Texas " sanctuary city bill" that would prohibit police from enforcing federal immigration law. Hernandez is also an attorney at Mostyn Law Firm, and serves on the board of directors of the Hispanic Bar Association of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

References

External links

Texas House of Representatives - Ana Hernandez
official TX House website
Project Vote Smart - Representative Ana E. Hernandez (TX)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Ana Hernandez
2006
campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Ana Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives 1978 births Living people Women state legislators in Texas 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Texas Hispanic and Latino American women in politics People from Pasadena, Texas University of Houston alumni University of Texas School of Law alumni Texas lawyers