Civil rights attorney Hector Villagra has been named executive director of the Los-Angeles based American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the first Latino to hold the position.

Villagra,

42, is the organization's legal director and will succeed longtime executive director Ramona Ripston when she retires Feb. 15.

Villagra told the Los Angeles Times, the ACLU's biggest challenge is the defense of individual rights in an increasingly anti-immigrant environment.

In a statement this week, Villagra said "so many diverse communities find themselves in need of civil liberties protections, and I intend to continue this organization's proud tradition of protecting everyone's rights."

The ACLU of Southern California is separate from the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties though both work similar issues, including protecting immigrant rights.

Villagra, who joined the ACLU in 2005, has been involved in high-profile civil rights litigation.

In 2008, he helped uphold the Los Angeles Police Department's

Special Order 40, which prohibits officers from using immigration status to initiate investigations.

He helped protect a Buddhist congregation's rights to free religious exercise after the City of Garden Grove denied the Quan Am Temple's request for a building permit. He also helped settle a case against San Bernardino County where the jail policy required the removal of the headscarf known as hijab, forcing Muslim women to violate their religious beliefs.