UnidosUS President and CEO: Biden’s Plan Is a Bold and Necessary Investment in America’s Future

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Economic recovery must include nation’s 60 million Latinos

WASHINGTON, DC— In response to President Biden’s first address before a joint session of Congress, UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía made the following statement:

“Tonight’s speech by President Biden laid out an ambitious agenda to build back our nation given the challenges we still face: the continuing pandemic, an economy in need of lasting recovery, and deep divisions that demand unity and racial healing. We applaud the president for his vision and for “thinking big.” We support the American Families Plan that addresses the issues of greatest concern to our community and millions of American families from jobs to child poverty, tax policy to health care, and education to safety net programs and infrastructure.

“We also commend the president for his unequivocal stance on voting rights, rethinking law enforcement, ending gun violence, and the need for racial healing, urging Congress to pass both the For The People Act and the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. And we have long waited for a president to give a strong, full-throated endorsement for a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented Americans, including DREAMers, TPS-holders, and farmworkers, not to mention one who also acknowledges the importance of immigrant essential workers in this pandemic and to this country. It was a long-overdue injection of reality and rationality on the immigration issue.

“We would caution that while Latinos disproportionately need these reforms, without a targeted effort to reach the community, their dose of hope may never be fully realized. It is imperative that the administration has a plan that is fair, equitable, and inclusive to ensure that all our country’s communities, including Hispanics and mixed-status families, have the access needed to take advantage of these measures.

“What is most remarkable about the president’s plans is their potential to meaningfully change the lives of millions of Americans, including millions of Latino families, and put them on the path to real and sustained growth and shared prosperity. This is precisely the kind of policy and investment our country needs today to ensure a better tomorrow for all.”