Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome to City Council Chambers.

Miss Prime, we are ready to go to work.

Yes, sir.

Good morning, and welcome to the presentation of the mayor's proclamations.

We begin this morning with a Pledge of Allegiance.

And to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, we have students from Glen Cove Elementary School.

At the invitation of City Representative Deanna Maldonado Rocha, we have Santiago Pedrosa and Natalie Pedrosa.

Representative.

Thank you, Mayor.

Good morning.

Come on up, welcome.

Whereas on July 26, 1990, President George H.

W.

Bush signed into law, the Americans with Disability Act, ADA, to ensure civil rights of people with disabilities, promising equal opportunity and public accommodations, employment, transportation, government, and telecommunications.

Whereas generations of Americans and El Pasoans with disabilities have improved our communities in countless ways, refusing to accept the world as it is and have worked to continue to tear down the barriers that prohibit people from fully realizing the American dream.

These past tireless efforts lead to the enactment of the American with Disabilities Act, one of the most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation in our nation's history.

Whereas our family, members, friends, neighbors, colleagues, business, and civil leaders.

Since the passing of ADA, persons with disabilities are living fuller lives in the community with increased opportunity and access.

Whereas the City of El Paso, Texas affirms the principles of equality and inclusion for people with disabilities as set forth by the state of Texas as embodied in the ADA, the ordinance of the City of El Paso will continue to work with local organizations, constituents to bring forth and promise of hope and freedom to envision by the ADA as law.

Whereas the ADA has expanded opportunities for Americans with disabilities by reducing barriers and changing perceptions and increasing full participation in community life.

However, the full promise of the ADA will only be reached if we remain committed to continuing our efforts towards its full implement, and whereas numerous organizations in the city of El Paso and throughout the state of Texas with constituents and communities to bring forth the promise of hope and freedom that is envisioned by the passage of the ADA.

And whereas the City of El Paso strives to meet ADA compliance by ensuring persons with disabilities have access to community-based services that allow people to lead full and independent lives in our communities of their choosing.

Whereas on July 26, 2026, the El Paso community will celebrate the 36th anniversary of Americans with Disability Act with a press conference and community gathering.

Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Mayor and Council of the City of El Paso, celebrating and recognizing the progress that has been made and reaffirming the principles of equality inclusion and recommitting our efforts to full ADA compliance.

Hi, good morning.

Because I live in my own home with um community support.

Um just to get dressed and shower and get out the door to come here today.

And um allow me to to be here with you today.

Um that dream was also realized when I was able to go to school, um go to college and go to work.

I've been able to work out in the community as a person that was able to help um with answering phones uh with the natural service uh as well as doing other things in the community and without those supports, um I wouldn't be able to do any of it.

And I'm 51 years old, so I've been able to experience life outside of El Paso with traveling and and doing all of these things that we wouldn't be able to do without the ADA in place.

But yet um suddenly these things are still threatened like Substance 504, which allows students with disabilities to be able to be in the regular classroom as well as accessible um equipment and excuse me and doctors' offices.

Those are the things that our current administration is threatening to take away, and that would not allow for us to live with the freedoms we currently have.

So that's my experience, and I really appreciate the fact that you're willing to listen to my story today.

Awesome.

I represent the blind people of Alpha So, and I very much thank you for the wonderful proclamation.

Is anyone else want to come up and introduce themselves?

Good morning.

Good morning.

Sorry.

Um good morning, Mayor City Council.

We want to thank you all for uh once again um the proclamation for the Americans with Disabilities Act.

And as Duran was saying, uh, we're looking forward not only for the commitment of the dream of the ADA, which that was established years ago, but we would also like an active city council that's gonna protect um the ADA and what the ADA means as far as accessibility in different types in different areas of our lives.

Right now they're threatening a lot of laws that are um that protect our civil rights, and we would love um if our city council backs people with disabilities here in El Paso when all these um types of uh when all these cuts to these different legislations are happening, um, that you all stand up for us and say we want an accessible PASO.

Um we're not willing to go backwards.

We're wait we're we're needing to move forward.

We need more affordable, accessible, integrated housing for people to live in the community.

Uh we need more attending care, we need better wages for our attendance, um, and we need uh especially in education.

We need people with disabilities to get good quality education and not um be considered uh invaluable just because uh students have a uh disability.

We need we need them to be able to get the adequate education that they need, and we thank you for your continued support.

Good morning.

Good morning, Mayor and Council.

Muy buenos, yes.

Uh my name is Estela Reyes Lopez, and I am here on behalf of uh my organization, Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe.

I want to thank um the fine folks and families of not only ADAPT, but also Volar Center for Independent Living for offering us the opportunity to be with you to join here this morning and stand proudly for um the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

It is um one of the most important strongholds and markers of our nation's civil rights that we have, and as someone who has spoken out in my lifetime on behalf of families of color, families of low income, and now families of folks living with disabilities.

I could not possibly be prouder this morning to be here backed up by these wonderful folks.

I want everybody to offer them the applause that they deserve for the lives that they lead, for the leadership that they demonstrate on behalf of their organizations, on behalf of our community, for those who sometimes cannot speak, are not able to walk into a building, a community center, a workplace, a hospital, and they've never known the dignity of not having to be able to do that without having some kind of limitation placed before them.

That is not right, and as if you heard as you've heard my colleagues behind me speak, we are under attack right now, and I say this as a woman living with disabilities, as the daughter of parents living with disabilities.

Right now, our community is under attack.