Senator Cortese and Assemblymember Kalra Condemn Downtown San Jose Highway Closures for Cinco de Mayo

Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose) and Assemblymember Ash Kalra (D-San Jose) issued the following statement in response to the extensive closures of San Jose highway off-ramps during weekend Cinco de Mayo celebrations:

“Normal traffic controls are one thing – but shutting down major highway access on the pretense of fear of multicultural celebrations of Cinco de Mayo is racist targeting, and blatantly unconstitutional as it violates First Amendment rights to freedom of assembly. We will not stand by while Caltrans and local agencies infringe on civil rights that we have, as a community, strived for during the past 60 years. We will investigate this decision and find out who is responsible and why they did this. We can’t allow government agencies to stereotype our community and its residents, and violate the “California for All” values that we hold dear.”  

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