THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For Immediate Release December 14, 1993 PRESIDENT APPOINTS BARBARA JORDAN TO CHAIR IMMIGRATION REFORM COMMISSION President Clinton today appointed former Texas Congresswoman Barbara Jordan to Chair the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. The nine member Commission was created by Congress in 1990 to evaluate the impact of the recent changes in immigration policy and to recommend further changes that might be necessary by September 30 1994, and again by September 30, 1997. "I have chosen Barbara Jordan -- one of the most well respected people in America -- to chair this commission because immigration is one of the most important and complex issues facing our country today," said the President. "I am confident that Congresswoman Jordan will use her prodigious talents to thoughtfully address the challenges posed by immigration reform, balance the variety of competing interests, and recommend policies that will be in our country's best interests." Jordan currently holds the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. During her tenure in Congress, Jordan served on the House Judiciary and Government Operations Committees. She had previously served in the Texas State Senate. Among the numerous awards Jordan has won, she was recently recognized in a National Women's Hall of Fame survey as "One of the most influential American women of the 20th century." She has also been a recipient of the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights, the Eleanor Roosevelt Val- Kill Medal, the National Civil Rights Museum Freedom Award, and the Bess Wallace Truman Award. Other notable achievements include selection by Time magazine as one of the "Ten Women of the Year" in 1976, and presentation of keynote addresses at the 1976 and 1992 Democratic National Conventions. Jordan is a graduate of Texas Southern University, with an L.L.B. from Boston University and honorary doctorates from more than 30 colleges and universities. # # #