Alex Padilla: “reserving the right to object. Colleagues, what is happening at the border right now is not just another policy matter…”

“reserving the right to object. Colleagues, what is happening at the border right now is not just another policy matter to me; it is personal. When I see the young Latino children, alone in an unfamiliar setting, being spoken to by law enforcement and other authorities in a language that they don't understand, I actually can't help but think of my three boys. My boys are the same ages as many of the kids presenting themselves at the border seeking asylum. They look just like those kids. I see the fear and desperation in the eyes of the children at the border, and I don't have to imagine how my boys would look and feel under such circumstances. I have tasted that already. In 2018, we were on a family trip in Arizona--June of 2018. It was the height of Trump's cruel family separation. We took a detour to Tornillo, TX, to demand humane treatment of the children who were being intentionally separated from their parents by the previous administration. On the way there, I tried to prepare my boys, mentally and emotionally, for what they were about to see. And it was my youngest son, Diego, who was 3 years old at the time, who turned to me and said: Dad, Donald Trump is putting kids in cages. We got to go help them. My heart broke. Imagine how the children on the border today are feeling. Imagine how scared they must be.…”