On behalf of LatinoJustice PRLDEF I thank Representative Fudge and the members of the Subcommittee on Elections for inviting me to testify on the important subject of voting rights in the State of Florida.

Statement

On behalf of all of us at LatinoJustice PRLDEF I extend our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of one of the shining lights of our Puerto Rican, Dominican and Latino community, Luis Garden Acosta, and especially to his wife Frances Lucerna and friend Gino Maldonado both of whom from El Puente in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

As 2018 winds down, LatinoJustice continues to focus on the road forward.

While we broke bread with our families this past weekend, we processed images of children and their parents fleeing violence in their homelands only to be met with tear gas and hostility at the U.S. border. It seemed all too easy to fall into despair. But yielding to terror tactics is not the answer.

The growing caravan of migrants making their way to Mexico City (and hopefully, the Mexico–U.S. border) portrays the open defiance of immigrants who have nothing left to lose but their lives.

By Denise Collazo and Juan Cartagena