US Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani sworn in as first Asian American to serve Southern District of Texas
HOUSTON - Alamdar S. Hamdani recently made history by becoming the first Asian American to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas (SDTX).
In a press release by the Attorney's Office a couple of months before he was sworn in, Hamdani was described as a dedicated man of the law. To then be serving as the chief law enforcement officer in the nation's 7th largest district, was an enormous responsibility but one that many believed he was ready for.
Alamdar S. Hamdani (Photo courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Justice)
In fact, aside from being the 24th presidentially-appointed attorney for the SDTX, he received a lauding recommendation from U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz.
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During a meet and greet with members of the local media, including FOX 26, Hamdani had a gentleness in demeanor, but his resume spoke volumes. Having spent about 15 years with the U.S. Attorney's Office, Hamdani has handled exceptional cases and even cracked down on internal depravity pertaining to "national security and public corruption issues."
"Mostly going after terrorists, spies, and bad, crooked politicians and local cops," he added.
(Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Justice)
It was clear in the hours-long conversations Hamdani had with media officials that he never carried out any action without having a plan. However, when it comes to, for example, taking down someone in power that has been breaking the law, he will do so by the books.
One thing I'm going to do as the US attorney, we all do as AUSAs, is we're going to follow the facts," he said. "We will follow, we will prosecute without favor, without fear. It doesn't matter what political party, anybody may be a part of….We're going to make sure that our public officials adhere to the law, and the standards that they're expected to adhere to, just as I, of course, will."
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However, he noted that among the busy tasks Hamdani has at hand, some of his top priorities include tackling violent crime, national security issues, and especially drug crimes.
"The big thing I'm looking at is what is harming our citizens?" he said. "What's killing? What's causing them harm? If I could prioritize that, that's what I want to go after."
Coming from an immigrant background and now stepping into a pivotal role as the first Asian American U.S. attorney for SDTX, Hamdani noted how his diversity does work to an advantage in terms of analyzing and empathizing cases.
"As an immigrant, as a person of color, I have an experience that I think is valuable to bring, when I'm looking at cases when analyzing cases when analyzing problems," he said. "To be good as an AUSA, you've got to have the emotional smarts and book smarts, all the things that it takes, I think to be a good human being what it takes to be a good federal prosecutor."