September 22, 2021/Media, Press

ICYMI: Biden-Harris Administration Kicks Off National Hispanic Heritage Month

One week into National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Biden-Harris administration has kicked off the celebration of the contributions of Latinos in American history with a series of events that will continue throughout the next few weeks.

Yesterday, White House Public Engagement Director and Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond and White House Office of Political Outreach and Strategy Director Emmy Ruiz spoke with Latino leaders from across the country to listen to their priorities and to discuss how the Build Back Better agenda and pathway to citizenship would benefit Latino families.

Last week, the White House hosted a virtual event roundtable with Isabel Guzman, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Miguel Cardona, Secretary of Education and Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security to highlight the benefits of the President’s Build Back Better Agenda for the Latino community. The North Carolina Democratic Party (NCDP) Hispanic American Caucus also hosted a virtual celebration on the first night of National Hipsanic Heritage Month last week.

Coverage of the Biden-Harris administration’s celebration of National Hispanic Heritage month has been featured in UnivisionEFE and El Tiempo Latino.

From the moment President Biden took office, his administration has delivered for Hispanic communities: 

  • President Biden’s cabinet includes four Hispanic Cabinet Secretaries: Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Small Business Administrator Isabel Guzman. Within days of his election, President Biden named three Latino Americans to be a part of the White House’s senior staff and remains committed to building the most diverse administration in history.
  • President Biden and Democrats’ American Rescue Plan provided much-needed relief to the Hispanic community during the pandemic.
    • Additional Paycheck Protection Program funding for small businesses and rental assistance has helped families stay in their homes, and the child tax credit is helping lift Hispanic children out of poverty.
  • President Biden’s administration is committed to continuing the fight to protect the sacred right to vote and provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented Hispanics — especially Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status holders, farmworkers, and essential workers — through desperately needed immigration reform, including in President Biden’s Build Back Better budget resolution moving through Congress, not only because this benefits our Nation’s economy but also because it is the right thing to do.

  • The Biden-Harris administration has reaffirmed its commitment to extending the hand of friendship to Latin America and strengthening democracy in the region.
    • The administration has sent over 5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico with millions more on the way.
    • The administration has donated over 33 million doses of the vaccine to 21 other countries in Latin America, including the first doses of the vaccine to reach Haiti, carried there by the United States Coast Guard, to help protect Haiti’s first responders and health care workers.

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