Gloria Romero– “What Happened To The Missing 319,000 Children?“

By Mike Hernandez (Aug. 10, 2026)

SACRAMENTO–Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones, representing District 40 (Inland San Diego County), Senator Suzette Martinez Valladares, representing District 23 (Santa Clarita/Simi Valley, Antelope Valley, Victor Valley), and California GOP Chair Corrine Rankin are co-hosting the Tuesday, Aug. 11 fundraising reception from 4-6 p.m. for Lt. Gov. candidate Gloria Romero at the Republican state headquarters on 1001 K Street, 4th Floor, Sacramento, CA 95814. To RSVP for tickets call 916-834-1907 or go to: [email protected].

”What Happened To The Missing Children,” said Lt. Gov. candidate Gloria Romero commenting on the 2024 report from the Office of Inspector General. “Because of the failure of the leadership” of former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra “we are trying to do the job that the whistleblowers have brought forward” in regards to the 319,000 missing unaccompanied minors that cross the southern border.

(Editor’s Note: See Red State July 27 article by journalist Jennifer Oliver O’Connell.)

“What they found are quite stunning statistics” said Romero:

• 16 percent of children’s case files basically lack documentation of one or more of the required sponsor safety checks that had been completed. 
• 19 percent of the children released didn’t have the appropriate fingerprints of their sponsors on file.
• 35 percent of the sponsor identification documents had legibility problems making identification verification next to impossible.

“There are many documented allegations of rape, sexual assault, of harassment, of trafficking, and labor exploitation…It is very important to call upon the Democrat Party to answer for this. It shouldn’t be about Republican or Democrat or Independent, left or right, it should be about mothers and fathers and families to understand what happened on our watch, on our dime.”

Former California State Senator Gloria Romero was first elected to the State Senate in 2001 and represented East Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley and became the first woman to serve as Senate Majority Leader in California’s history.  Prior to her role in the California Senate, Romero served as Majority Whip of the California State Assembly. In 2024, she became a Republican.

The nationally recognized leader on education reform, school choice and parental involvement, was born in Barstow, California (San Bernardino County), one of six children. She taught as a professor at Cal State Los Angeles and became vice president of the Los Angeles Community College District board of trustees.

Romero is a supporter of charter schools and in 2012 supported Proposition 32 which would have barred unions from making payroll deductions to Political Action Committees (PACs). She authored landmark legislation such as the Parent Trigger and Open Enrollment Act, the first laws in the nation to give parents real authority over chronically failing schools. She believes in merit-based education reform.

On Education: “Show Up, Speak Up, Fix What’s Broken”

The California Lt. Governor sits on the boards that run universities and colleges. “If you’re admitted to college, you should be able to do college-level work. That’s not controversial, it’s common sense…And let’s be clear: no student should be threatened with who they are or what they believe. Jewish students, and students of every faith and background, deserve safety, dignity, and equal treatment on campus. No student should ever have their life or physical safety threatened with who they are.”

California’s GOP Candidate Slate

Romero, 71-years old, is part of a slate of GOP candidates running for office in the General Election to be held Tuesday, Nov. 3. The other candidates include:

• Steve Hilton, 56, running for Governor;
• Michael Gates, 51, running for Attorney General;
• Don Wagner, 65, running for Secretary of State;
• Sonja Shaw, 43, running for Superintendent of Instruction;
• Herb Morgan, 59, running for Controller;
• Jennifer Hawks, running for Treasurer;

(Editor’s Note: Mike Hernandez, is founder, publisher, editor of California’s statewide online news platform: https://calirednews.com/ and co-founder of the Citizens Journal–Ventura County’s online news service. He is a former Southern California daily newspaper journalist and religion and news editor, writer of “Mike Hernandez – On The News” and “Prayer Over News Daily” and other columns. Mr. Hernandez mentors citizen journalists and can be contacted at MikeHernandezMedia.com dedicated to advancing truth, service, and hope through Mission News Service.)