Heinrich Takes to Senate Floor to Object Legislation that Erases History of Farm Labor Movement, Silences Survivors of Cesar Chavez’s Violence

WASHINGTON - Yesterday, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, took to the Senate floor to deliver remarks applauding the bravery of the women - including Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas - who courageously stepped forward to share their stories about the sexual assault and abuse they endured by Cesar Chavez, and to object U.S. Senator John Cornyn's (R-Texas) unanimous consent (UC) request that would effectively erase the history of the farmworker movement and silence the survivors of Chavez's abuse.

In his remarks, Heinrich proposed amending Cornyn's proposal by temporarily closing the Cesar Chavez National Monument and requiring the National Park Service to consult with all who are part of the farm labor movement, including survivors of Chavez's sexual violence, to determine how to reorient the monument to tell the history of the entire farmworker movement. After doing so, the National Park Service would consider what sites and properties are appropriate to include in a farm labor movement monument.

Heinrich also echoed concerns raised by six organizations-Latinos in Heritage Conservation, Hispanic Access Foundation, GreenLatinos, National Parks Conservation Association, API Americans in Historic Preservation, and Little Manila Rising-that Cornyn's bill was drafted without consultation with surviving activists from the historic movement, their descendants, farmworker communities, or the stakeholder groups that led the effort to establish the monument. Heinrich additionally warned that the legislation would not only dismantle a vital National Park Service unit dedicated to Latino and Asian American history, but also erase the nationally significant story of the broader Farmworker Movement-including the leaders, activists, and workers who fought for dignity and fair wages.