Obama said Harvard graduate Perez, the son of Dominican Republic immigrants, was a “consensus builder” whose background of putting himself through school was an example of American success.

He has asked the Senate to quickly confirm him.

“If you're willing to work hard, it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what your last name is – you can make it if you try,” Obama said.

“Tom's made protecting that promise for everybody the cause of his life.”

Perez has served as the head of the Justice Department division since 2009. Among other positions, he served as Maryland’s Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation secretary.

“Our nation still faces critical economic challenges and the department's mission is as important as ever," Perez said.

His nomination already has sparked some criticism on Capitol Hill and it is expected Senate Republicans will put up roadblocks to his confirmation.

“This is an unfortunate and needlessly divisive nomination," senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama said.

“Perez has also had a controversial tenure at the Department of Justice, where he has demonstrated a fundamentally political approach to the law."

Congressman John Kline, who served on the government’s education and workforce committee, also spoke up within hours of the news.

“Our country needs a labor secretary who will put America’s jobs before his own,” he said.

“To do so, the next secretary must encourage economic growth and competitiveness by rejecting punitive federal regulations and working with Congress to rein in wasteful spending. Troubling allegations in the media and an independent investigation raise concerns about whether Mr Perez is the right candidate to lead the Department of Labor.”

Former secretary Solis announced her resignation in January, less than two weeks before Obama officially took the reins for his second term.

Her announcement came at nearly the same time as confirmations that US Energy Secretary Steven Chu and US Environmental Protection Agency Director Lisa Jackson also were stepping down.

Solis joined the Obama administration in 2009 and was the nation’s 25th secretary of labor and the first Hispanic woman to hold the position.

The Department of Labor oversees the US Mine Safety and Health Administration as well as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Solis’ tenure, while thought to be more aggressively carried than predecessor Elaine Chao, was not without issues in the mining community.

However, many mine safety advocates criticized her for failing to enact changes to regulations following the Upper Big Branch explosion in West Virginia in 2010.