“Thomas Perez reminds us if you’re willing to work hard you can find success in America,” Obama said at the conference held in the East Room.

Perez, 51, the son of Dominican immigrants thanked the president in Spanish and English early in his address.

“Muchisimas gracias Señor Presidente,” Perez said. He continued to speak in Spanishand told the president he was grateful for “this great honor of being nominated to serve in this position.”

Labor unions and immigrant advocates applauded Perez’s nomination.

James P. Hoffa, general president of the Teamsters, told the NY Times that Perez was “the right choice” because of his history of advocacy. “In these difficult economic times,” Hoffa said, “workers need a fighter at the Labor Department who will stand up for them, and they are getting just that with Thomas Perez.”

The president of The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the largest federation of unions in the United States, echoed Hoffa’s statements.