[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 157 (Wednesday, September 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E985-E986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING YESICA RAMIREZ FOR HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. DARREN SOTO

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 28, 2022

  Mr. SOTO. Madam Speaker, Yesica Ramirez is the Apopka office area 
coordinator at the Farmworker Association of Florida. She and her 
family come from Michoacan, Mexico. Her first job in Apopka was as a 
plant nursery worker, where she worked for six years. Yesica also took 
several other jobs such as housekeeper and dishwasher.
  During the years Yesica worked at the plant nursery, she had no clue 
about pesticides and wondered how she had gotten rashes on her arms and 
hands. She later became pregnant with her third child who was born with 
complications. Upon birth, the baby needed to get their skull cut to 
get the head molded. When community members were active, fed up, and 
had a hint of hope for immigration reform, Yesica joined one of FWAF's 
marches in 2006. That was her introduction to FWAF. As she became more 
involved with the organization, a lot of things became clearer, such as 
the rashes on her hands and arms, and her child's health complications. 
During her work at the plant nursery, Yesica made a mixture of Clorox 
and alcohol with no protective gear. She has been fighting for social 
justice as part of the FWAF staff for 10 years.
  Through her work with FWAF, Yesica has been active in Florida's Ninth 
Congressional

[[Page E986]]

District working on immigration and voting rights, including working 
with the Young American Dreamers and doing outreach in the district to 
make sure that farmworkers in the area know their rights and become 
members of the association. Recently, Yesica was part of a delegation 
that met with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Assistant 
Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel Levine, to voice the issues that 
concern and affect farmworkers in Central Florida.

                          ____________________