As the U.S. honors Hispanic Heritage Month, some members of Congress are speaking out against President Donald Trump's treatment of Latinos in America.
Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas, 20th District), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, released a statement on the ongoing challenges the community is currently facing.
"For almost four years, Latino communities from Puerto Rico to the U.S.-Mexico border have been under assault from a hostile and xenophobic administration that has separated families, abandoned those in need, and spread fear and hate," Castro said.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz,.7th District), first vice-chair of the caucus, echoed Castro's sentiments Tuesday on Cheddar, criticizing the president's response to hurricane devastation in Puerto Rico and his treatment of DACA recipients.
One of the most pressing issues in the U.S. is the coronavirus pandemic, which Castro noted hurts the Hispanic community especially.
"The coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately harmed the health and financial security of many Latino families," Castro wrote. "With disproportionately high rates of infections, hospitalizations, and death, as well as the highest rate of workers unable to work remotely, COVID-19 has been a catastrophe for the Latino community."
Gallego criticized Trump's "irresponsible actions as a leader" amid the pandemic.
"Latinos have disproportionately, above any other demographic, paid the price because of COVID-19," Gallego said. "Because at the end of the day a lot of our people end up being essential workers of this country, and we couldn't social distance."
The CDC released new numbers Friday showing nearly half of all coronavirus-related deaths in people younger than 21 have been Hispanic.
"At the end of the day because we're a younger demographic to begin with, and we're also a middle-class and working-class demographic, we did not have the capability to shelter in place," Gallego said. "Plus the fact that many of us were uninsured to begin with or were underinsured and weren't able to take care of some of the underlying conditions that really give us as a community morbidities that made us more vulnerable to the coronavirus."
Cheddar is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting the history, culture, and contributions of the Hispanic and Latinx communities. We're diving into issues that matter and shining a light on the amazing influence of the Hispanic culture. To celebrate this month, leading fabric and craft retailer, JOANN is launching its second annual Minority Creative Grant program to support Hispanic creatives. The program will provide grants totaling $100,000 to 20 Hispanic business owners in need of financial support. Anthony Davila, lead product designer with JOANN and Shautina Lilly, diversity and inclusion manager with JOANN joined us to talk about the program.
Marjorie Woods, Owner of Epic Food Group, joins ChedHER to discuss the story behind her company, challenges during the pandemic, and her plans for growth.
The Department of Justice is suing Texas over the state's new abortion law that prohibits abortions after six weeks, well before many women even know they're pregnant. The lawsuit argues the law is unconstitutional under long-standing Supreme Court precedent. It was filed last week in federal court in Texas, but could go all the way to the high court within weeks. Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law Houston, discusses the DOJ lawsuit and what it could mean for other abortion laws across the country.
The Biden Administration has officially extended a ban on a Trump-era policy that prohibits traveling with a U.S. passport to North Korea. The extension is expected to last until August 2022. The ban was initially enforced after the death of Otto Warmbier, who entered a vegetative state while in North Korean custody. Advocates against the ban argue that it has caused crippling impacts on Korean Americans who have not been able to reunite with their families back home. Senior Fellow at The Foundation For Defense of Democracies Anthony Ruggiero joined Cheddar's News Wrap to discuss more.
