COLLECTION FINDING AID



THOMAS ARANDA, JR., FILES, 1976-77

Special Assistant to the President for Hispanic Affairs
Office of Public Liaison



SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Material related to White House liaison with Hispanic groups and individuals and their issues during the last six months of the Ford administration.

QUANTITY
 5.5 linear feet (ca. 11,000 pages)

DONOR
 Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-64)

ACCESS
 Open. Some items are temporarily restricted under terms of the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, or under National Archives and Records Administration general restrictions (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
 Gerald Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections. The copyrights to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them. Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Nancy Mirshah, November 1989
[s:\bin\findaid\aranda, thomas - files.doc]

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION


Thomas Aranda, Jr.


April 9, 1934 - Born, Nogales, Arizona

1951-1955 - Enlistee, U.S. Army Reserve

1955-1960 - Pilot, United States Air Force

1960-1977 - Reserve officer, Air National Guard and U.S. Air Force Reserve

1964 - B.S., University of Arizona

1967 - J.D., University of Arizona College of Law

1968-1976 - Senior partner, DePrima, Aranda and de Leon, Phoenix

1970-1976 - Member, Amusement Appeals Board, Citizen Tax Reform Committee, Municipal Aeronautics Advisory Board, License Appeals Board, Phoenix

1972 - Co­founder, Arizona Business Resource Center; member, Mayor's Citizen Reform Committee, Phoenix

1975-1976 - Member, National Advisory Council on Extension and Continuing Education

1975 - Member, Office of Economic Development Program Committee, Phoenix

1976-1977 - Special Assistant to the President for Hispanic Affairs, The White House

1977 - Senior partner, DePrima, Aranda and de Leon

1977-1978 - Special assistant, Inter­American Defense Board; member, Council on Inter­American Defense

1978 - Legal counsel, Arizona Republican Party

1980 - Member, President Reagan's transition team

1981 - Ambassador to Uruguay

INTRODUCTION

Thomas Aranda was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Hispanic Affairs on July 29, 1976, three months after Fernando De Baca resigned the position. Working in the Office of Public Liaison (OPL) under the direction of William J. Baroody, Jr., Aranda provided liaison to Hispanics during the 1976 campaign and the last six months of the Ford administration. In the remaining weeks after the election, he sought to promote opportunity for Hispanics in the military and individual projects in his native state.

Aranda's mission was prescribed by OPL's mission to provide citizens and interest groups access to government. The bulk of thee material throughout all series indicates a routine and selective referral service to government agencies for Hispanics with requests for aid, employment or complaints. His "Accomplishments" folders consist of successfully channeled requests with agency responses. Telephone logs and notes suggest possible activity related to the Hispanic Republican vote but this is not well documented in the collection.

Correspondence between Aranda and Hispanic leaders in the Hispanic Organizations series is formal and routine. Material related to meetings between them is sparse. Aranda arranged for several meetings between Hispanic leaders and businessmen and the President before the election, but only one is documented in the collection. In addition, Aranda organized the President's signing ceremony for National Hispanic Heritage Week.

Important material is present in the Hispanic Issues series and in scattered documents expressing disagreement between interest groups and government on legislation related to equalizing Latin American with European immigration quotas, and proof of citizenship requirements for employment. Also present is material Aranda received from OPL's Reynaldo Maduro and Cuban-Americans on a heated controversy among Miami Republicans over the director of the Cuban Refugee Project, and on a pre-election presidential meeting with Cuban-Americans. Aranda and Maduro occasionally worked together although it is not well- documented in the collection. Aranda was particularly involved with Mexican- Americans, Maduro with those of Cuban or Puerto Rican heritage.

Aranda's files were originally accessioned as a joint collection with De Baca's 1974-75 files, but they were easily separated during processing. Aranda incorporated occasional items from his predecessor's files into his own files. Aranda's files also include the 1975 Domestic Council Committee for Illegal Aliens files of OPL's Special Assistant for Human Resources Theodore Marrs. Aranda presumably acquired the files from Marrs, who resigned in June 1976. While there is evidence Aranda acknowledged his role on the committee, there is no documentation of his participation in the collection.

Related Materials (November 1989)
Related material is found in the collections of his predecessor Fernando E. C. De Baca, Deputy Special Assistant for Hispanic Affairs Reynaldo Maduro, White House Operations Staff Assistant Foster Chanock, in the Domestic Council staff files of James Cannon, Richard Parsons, and Lynn May. Additional materials may appear in the unprocessed files of William J. Baroody, to whom Aranda reported.

Additional related material exists in White House Central Files categories:

Federal Government: FG 6-11-1/Aranda

FG 6-11-1/De Baca

FG 6-15 Domestic Council

FG 17 Justice Department (OA 9281)

FG 21-17 Office of Minority Business Enterprise

FG 145 Cabinet Committee on Opportunities for

Spanish Speaking Persons

Human Rights: HU 2 Equality

HU 2-2 Employment

HU 2-4 Voting

Immigration: IM Immigration and Naturalization

SERIES DESCRIPTIONS

Hispanic Organizations, 1976-77.  (Boxes 1‑3, 1.0 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, presidential messages, notes, agendas, proposals, background papers, printed material, press releases, and other materials exchanged between Hispanic organizations and Aranda reflecting the issues, goals, activities, complaints, and requests of Hispanics.

Arranged alphabetically by organization name or acronym.

View container list for this series

Major Hispanic Issues, 1975-76.  (Boxes 3‑4, 0.7 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, statements, testimonies, reports, research studies, notes, news clippings and publications received by Aranda from Hispanics and government officials on contemporary issues. Dominant in the series are Special Assistant for Human Resources Theodore Marrs' 1975 files from the Domestic Council Committee for Illegal Aliens.

Arranged alphabetically by issue and thereunder by subject.

View container list for this series

Meetings, 1976.  (Box 5, 0.2 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, summaries, notes, draft briefing papers and presidential remarks, and routine materials related to several meetings attended by the President and/or Aranda, Hispanic leaders and state and local officials. The materials relate to advance work, topics and attendance.

Arranged chronologically by date.

View container list for this series

Federal Programs, 1976-77.  (Boxes 5‑6, 0.5 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, and an assorted, occasional briefing paper, report, statement, application, recommendation, schedule or travel request. The materials relate to presidential appointment of Hispanics, the development of agency Spanish­speaking programs, federal employment discrimination against Hispanics, and Aranda's support of local Hispanic programs seeking White House influence to obtain federal funding.

Arranged alphabetically by agency or program name or acronym.

View container list for this series

General Subject File, 1976-77.  (Boxes 6‑12, 3.1 linear feet)
Correspondence, memoranda, mission statement, notes, schedule proposals, proceedings, occasional speeches and testimony, research papers and routine materials. They relate to Aranda's liaison activities, the mission and function of the Office of Hispanic Affairs, and the needs and request of the Hispanic community.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

View container list for this series

CONTAINER LIST

Box 1 - Hispanic Organizations

  • American G.I. Forum
  • Asociation Los Viejos Utiles
  • Colegio Cesar Chavez
  • Committee of 18 Spanish Speaking Nationalities
  • Corazon Residential Center
  • COSSMHO - National Coalition of Spanish Speaking Mental Health Organizations (1)-(3)
  • El Congreso
  • HACE - Hispanic Americans Cultural Effort
  • Hostos Community College
  • IMAGE (1)-(2)
  • La Luz Magazine
  • LAMA - Latin American Manufacturer's Association

Box 2 - Hispanic Organizations

  • LULAC - League of United Latin American Citizens
  • MAEOPP - Mid-America Association of Education Opportunity Program Personnel
  • MALDEF - Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
  • MAPA - Mexican American Political Association
  • MART - Mexican-American Republicans of Texas
  • National Council of La Raza
  • OAS - Organization of American States
  • OMICA - Organized Migrants in Community Action
  • PALCO - Pan American Liaison Committee of Women's Organizations, Inc.
  • Project Adelante Upward Bound Program
  • Republican National Hispanic Assembly
  • SER/Jobs for Progress, Inc. (1)-(3)
  • Southwest Voter Registration Education Project

Box 3 - Hispanic Organizations

  • TELACU - The East Los Angeles Community Union
  • Texas Hemophilia Association, Inc.
  • UNIDOS Enterprises, Inc.
  • United California Mexican-American Association
  • United Farm Workers

Box 3 (Continued) - Major Hispanic Issues

  • Bilingual Education
  • Cuba Policy (1)-(5)
  • Illegal Aliens (1)-(2)

Box 4 - Major Hispanic Issues

  • Illegal Aliens
    - Dr. Marrs' Files - Background Information (1)-(2)
    - Dr. Marrs' Files - Correspondence (1)-(2)
    - Dr. Marrs' Files - Memoranda (1)-(2)
    - Dr. Marrs' Files - Miscellaneous
    - Dr. Marrs' Files - Press
    - Immigration and Nationality Act Amendments of 1976 (H.R. 14535)
  • Illegal Aliens Study
    - "Estudio de Determinantes y Consecuencias del Cambio Demografico"
    - "Impact of Government Policies on Rural Out-Migration"

Box 5 - Meetings

  • 1976/07/24 - Providence Hispanic Celebration
  • 1976/07/29 - Republican National Hispanic Assembly (1)-(2)
  • 1976/09/03 - SER/Jobs for Progress Fifth Anniversary Celebration
  • 1976/09/16-17 - Organization of U.S. Border Cities Conference
  • 1976/09/22 - White House Conference on Economic Business Development
  • 1976/10/08 - President Ford's Meeting with Hispanic Leaders
  • 1976/10/31 - United California Mexican-American Association

Box 5 (Continued) - Federal Programs

  • CETA - Colorado Migrant Council
  • Community Services Administration - Community Development Council
  • Department of Commerce
  • Department of Defense
  • Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1)-(3)
  • Department of Justice - Drug Enforcement Administration (1)-(2)

Box 6 - Federal Programs

  • Federal Aviation Agency
  • Federal Communications Commission
  • Federal Energy Commission
  • Immigration and Naturalization Service
  • Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (1)-(2)
  • USOE - Office of Bilingual Education - All Indian Pueblo Council
  • U.S. Air Force
  • U.S. Civil Service Commission

Box 6 (Continued) - General Subject File

  • Accomplishments File - Referrals, July - September, 1976
  • Accomplishments File - Referrals, October, 1976 (1)-(2)
  • Accomplishments File - Referrals, November - December, 1976

Box 7 - Federal Programs

  • Aguirre, Ed - Swearing-In Ceremony (1)-(2)
  • Ames, Fred
  • Arizona Department of Education - OCR Paperwork
  • Arizona State Bar
  • Armstrong, Anne - Miscellaneous Reports
  • Children's Medical Relief International, Inc.
  • City of Pontiac, Michigan - Latin Affairs Office, Joe A. Benavidez
  • Corporation for Public Broadcasting
  • CSA Grant to Arizona Job College
  • de Mesones, Pedro and Associates
  • Education
  • FAPRS - Federal Assistance Programs Retrieval System
  • Feature Story - The Ford Administration and Hispanics
  • Federal Vacancy Announcements
  • Forms and Samples

Box 8 - General Subject File

  • Forum of National Hispanic Organizations
  • FYI
  • General Correspondence, March-August, 1976 (1)-(2)
  • General Correspondence, September, 1976
  • General Correspondence, October, 1976
  • General Correspondence, November-December, 1976
  • Gonzales, Frederick - Hispanics and the Ford Campaign
  • Hispanic Appointees, Supergrades, Leaders and Spanish-speaking Persons - Lists
  • Hispanic Organizations
  • Hispanic Programs
  • Hispanics and Hispanic Media - Lists
  • Immigration Applicants
  • Inter-American Defense Board, Columbus Day Meeting

Box 9 - General Subject File

  • Inter-Office Memos
  • International Women's Year
  • Invitations, May-August, 1976 (1)-(2)
  • Invitations, September, 1976
  • Invitations, October-December, 1976 (1)-(2)
  • Job-Related Correspondence
  • Legislation
  • Library of Congress
  • Lopez, Hank
  • Maduro, Rey
  • Media Contacts
  • Mercado Project of the Guadalupe Organization, Inc. (1)

Box 10 - General Subject File

  • Mercado Project of the Guadalupe Organization, Inc. (2)
  • Military - Correspondence
  • Mission Tesoro
  • National Advisory Council on Extension and Continuing Education
  • National Hispanic Heritage Week (1)-(2)
  • Office of Hispanic Affairs
  • OPL Reports
  • Panama Canal
  • Paper on the Brown Administration and California's Spanish-speaking Population
  • Personal - Congratulations, News clippings
  • Presidential Message
  • Public Appearance Questionnaire
  • Puerto Rico General File
  • Recommendations
  • Report on Hispanic Affairs

Box 11 - General Subject File

  • Requests for Presidential Message
  • Requests for Support
  • Rivera, Irma - Traffic Systems, Inc.
  • Rourk, Beatrice - Inter-American Commission of Women
  • Rule, Gallagher (sculptor)
  • Sandoval, Miguel
  • Schedule Proposals
  • Southwest Border Economic Development Region
  • Spanish-Speaking Programs Conference - Summary Report
  • Telephone Messages (1)-(3)

Box 12 - General Subject File

  • Telephone Messages (4)-(8)
  • Thank You File
  • University Business Resource Center - Luis Aranda