Letters to the Editor: Latinx communities fighting racism don’t need Martinez, Cedillo and De León
As the first three candidates to announce their intent to seek the office of Santa Ana City Councilman, I have to admit that I was hesitant about endorsing either Manuel Cedillo, Jose Rodriguez or Roberto De León. My hesitancy came from my knowledge that Cedillo, Rodriguez, and De León have been criticized for their stances on issues of racial and economic justice.
Cedillo has expressed criticism for immigrants, including his opposition to the DACA program. Rodriguez has criticized the Department of Justice for not being more aggressive against criminals, especially those who come from Mexico. De León has criticized the City Council’s hiring practices, which he believes have unfairly favored people from a particular race and religion.
While both Rodriguez and De León have been outspoken critics of the administration’s “sanctuary city” policies, neither of them have publicly criticized President Trump’s policy of separating children from their parents at the border. Cedillo has criticized the Trump administration in the past, but has not publicly commented on the policy of separating children at the border.
While Cedillo, Rodriguez and De León expressed their opinions on the issues of racial justice, they did not explicitly call for the president’s actions to end and instead advocated for the separation of families at the border.
The following are some of the other community leaders who have spoken out against Trump’s actions and the policies with which he is connected that have led to the recent actions taken by the president.
They include the president of the United States, his cabinet members, his immigration secretary, officials within the Department of Homeland Security, and several officials within the Department of Health and Human Services. In other words they are all members of the government that is supposed to represent our communities.
The leaders of our communities have voiced their concerns and we need to listen. The leaders of our communities have been silent and that is why we the people