A letter from an Elba farmworker was one of 10 letters submitted to President Barack Obama as part of a White House celebration in honor of César Chávez.
The letters were presented by Arturo Rodríguez, president of United Farm Workers that was founded by Chávez, who would have been 83 years old on March 31, according to a press release from Centro Independiente de Trabajadores Agricolas.
Gerardo, the Elba farmworker, wrote to the president about how he and his wife risked their lives walking through the desert to come to the United States because their work in Mexico barely covered their family’s basic needs. He also wrote about the couple’s fears that immigration officers will separate the family and asked for comprehensive immigration reform.
"We are neither criminals nor terrorists," Gerardo wrote. "We are just workers who want to take care of our families."
