Hilda L. Solis: “I rise today before you to tell you about a very moving experience I had this weekend. I traveled to the city of Ciudad…”

“I rise today before you to tell you about a very moving experience I had this weekend. I traveled to the city of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico on a fact-finding mission with three other Members of Congress. Over 300 young women between the ages of 15 and 20 years of age were either sexually assaulted, raped, tortured and brutally murdered in the Ciudad Juarez in the past 10 years. I met with heartbroken families who were suffering from their losses. The families I met with wore pink hats and T-shirts with pictures of their loved ones that were missing, asking for justice, for 'Justicia.' They are rightfully looking for justice and closure to these awful murders. Many of these women and girls were abducted on their way to work or returning home from work or school. I wish all Members could see where some of these women live, in great miserable conditions where neighborhoods have no paved roads, no electricity, and no street lighting. So women have to travel by walking several blocks in the evening. Once they come home from work, many of them work there along the border. On Tuesday, the day that I returned from our trip from Ciudad Juarez, the body of a woman was found battered to death and then wrapped in a plastic bag. The fact is that this continues to happen, does not make it acceptable or tolerable.”