Victor Toro is like familia to me. Whenever I am at a rally/event, I see him and he kisses me and my children warmly. His life exemplifies the ways in which U.S. foreign policy in Latin America is connected with current immigration policy, and how the two work together at attempting to destroy community.

Victor Toro is a citizen and national of Chile who was jailed and tortured there because of his opposition to the illegitimate Pinochet government (1973-1990). For more than 23 years, Victor and his wife Nieves Ayress (also a survivor of torture by the Pinochet regime) have been living in New York City and engaging in activism in the South Bronx, where they founded Vamos a La Peña, a nonprofit community organization that has served as a space for free expression and people’s power for undocumented workers and other disenfranchised community members. On July 6, 2007,Victor Toro was arrested by US Border Patrol, an agency of the US Department of Homeland Security, while on board an Amtrak train in Rochester, New York. He was released on bond on July 9 and is now seeking political asylum with the help of his legal team. His wife Nieves is a US citizen; their daughter, Rosita Toro, is a legal permanent resident.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2009

12PM-3PM

26 Federal Plaza

Corner of Worth & Lafayette