STATE SENATOR GUSTAVO RIVERA JOINS BI-PARTISAN DELEGATION OF LATINO LEADERS AT #ENDFAMILYDETENTION RALLY IN TORNILLO, TEXAS

(Tornillo, TX) - Today, New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera joined a bi-partisan delegation of 12 board members from the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO) at a rally in Tornillo, Texas to call on the Trump administration to end its racist and abominable "zero tolerance" immigration policy. While the Trump administration signed an Executive Order claiming to end family separations, it has been responsible for the forceful separation of approximately 2,400 migrant children who were separated from their family and are currently being held throughout the country, including New York State.

Senator Rivera and the rest of the NALEO delegation joined members of sister organizations such as Voto Latino and UnidosUS, outside of a detention facility in Tornillo, Texas, near El Paso. They were there to demand the Trump administration implement an immediate course of action to reunify those children who were separated with their families and to end the shameful practice of keeping children of any age detained in jail like conditions. 

"Today, I joined a group of devoted Latino leaders as we rallied to demand that this administration immediately end its abhorrent "zero tolerance" policy. This policy has destroyed the lives of thousands of families and drives focus and resources from the true problem - a broken immigration system. The National government, as our representative, has separated approximately 2,400 children and babies from their families and has held them like criminals in jail-like conditions just because their parents made the desperate decision to leave their country and try to provide them with a better quality of life. This needs to stop. This has to stop. We have an obligation to these families, especially these children, to right the irreparable damage caused. We need to continue working across all levels of government, and in collaboration with not-profit organizations, to ensure these families receive the care they deserve, are reunified, and leave detention." 

Senator Rivera was joined by the following group of NALEO leaders: 

Mr. Arturo Vargas, Chief Executive Officer, NALEO
Hon. Alex Padilla, California Secretary of State; Past NALEO President
Hon. Sergio de Leon, Justice of the Peace, Tarrant County, TX
Hon. Dante Acosta, California State Assemblymember
Hon. Sarah Benatar, Treasurer, Coconino County, AZ
Hon. Steve Corona, Vice President, Board of Trustees, Fort Wayne Community Schools, IN
Hon. Crisanta Duran, Speaker, Colorado House of Representatives
Hon. Ed Gonzalez, Sheriff, Harris County, TX
Hon. Nora Vargas, Board Member, Southwestern Community College District, CA
Hon. Mara Candelaria Reardon, Indiana State Representative
Hon. Gustavo V. Camacho, Mayor, Pico Rivera, CA
Hon. Rafael Anchia, Texas State Representative; Chair, Mexican American Legislative Caucus

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) is a leading non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process.