KSAT:

The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) is mourning the loss of its longtime legal counsel, and San Antonio attorney Luis Roberto Vera, Jr.

Vera, 65, died overnight in San Antonio following a lengthy battle with an illness, according to LULAC. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing.

“Vera waged a courageous battle against an illness that finally claimed his life. Still, he had remained steadfastly active and working until very recently, the trademark of the fiery civil rights warrior for nearly 30 years,” LULAC said in a release.

LULAC’s National President Domingo Garcia said Vera was one of the greatest defenders of the Latino community, and he will be remembered as such for years to come.

“We have lost a friend, and our nation’s Latino community has lost one of its greatest defenders. Luis was a man whose fight for justice often took him from the streets of our poorest barrios in San Antonio to the marbled hallways of our federal courts. Judges knew when Luis Vera walked into their courtroom, he was there to win on behalf of millions of Latinos, and he did just that. He was widely respected, even by those who presented opposing legal arguments in landmark cases across a broad spectrum from voting rights to educational, employment, and housing discrimination lawsuits filed by LULAC. Luis followed in the footsteps of those before him who have helped build LULAC into one of America’s most respected civil rights organizations. Vaya con Dios Luis Vera,” Garcia said.