Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Today, March 18, 2026, Democratic Women’s Caucus Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03), released the following statement on the horrifying sexual abuse allegations raised against farmworker and civil rights movement leader Cesar Chavez:

“The farmworker and civil rights movement was built by countless people — especially women and families who sacrificed everything for a better future. That history is bigger than any one person. Honoring that legacy means facing painful truths and continuing the work for justice with honesty and humanity.

A movement rooted in justice must address all injustice. 

I am heartbroken and deeply disturbed by the stories that have come forward from women who say they were abused as girls by Cesar Chavez, and Dolores Huerta’s painful account of what she endured. 

Survivors carried this pain in silence for years. We owe them our support; we must hear them and believe them. My Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues and I will always stand with survivors and will continue fighting for a future where all women and girls are safe in their communities, homes, and at work.”