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November 25, 2019
Over the weekend I traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border to address my concerns with the inhumane conditions there as well as the treatment of Black migrants.I am disturbed that the stories of Black migrants remain untold and unheardtheir stories matter. Now their voices have been heard. Immigration is very much a Black issue and I will never stop fighting for those at our border who are undoubtedly suffering from psychological trauma and long-term damage from being thrown into these horrific conditions at the hands of Donald Trump. Watch a video clip from my visit here.
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Last week at Energy and Commerce Committee there was a controversial vote on whether to ban flavored tobacco products, including menthol. Black smokers account for 80% of menthol users. After hearing from Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner’s mothers, Sybrina Fulton and Gwendolyn Carr, who raised concern that banning menthol could create new “stop-and-frisk” opportunities for officers, I couldn’t, in good conscience vote for a ban that includes menthol. The inclusion of menthol in this bill’s flavor ban will have unintended consequences for communities that are already overpoliced and lack the resources to aid those with nicotine addiction. Tobacco continues to be a public health crisis and I am committed to pushing forward to address this, especially as we are seeing an increase in use by young people. I applaud the Committee for the intent of this piece of legislation. However, we must not enact a ban that will disproportionately impact communities who have historically been the target of big tobacco’s marketing practices that led to tobacco addiction.
The climate crisis is hitting low-income communities and communities of color first and worst. The EPA needs to do more to protect and invest in our most vulnerable communities, and we must take bold steps to protect and invest in our most vulnerable communities. Click here to check out what I had to say on environmental justice during E&C’s Environment and Climate Change Subcommittee hearing.
I called for the resignation of Stephen Miller because we cannot allow white nationalists to make decisions that alter the lives of our most vulnerable communities. Recently leaked emails show Miller’s connection to white supremacist theories to prove what we knew all along- he is unfit to serve in the White House. Miller’s white supremacist views are quite apparent not only in the leaked emails, but more importantly, in his immigration policies that impose mass human rights violations at the border.
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