Press Releases

WASHINGTON— Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement to mark April as Minority Health Month:

WASHINGTON— United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.), House Natural Resources Committee Chair; Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.), House Small Business Committee Chair; and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair; wrote to Vice President Mike Pence, head of the White House Task Force on Coronavirus, regarding the economic and public health vulnerabilities of Puerto Rico amid the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The lawmakers requested information on how the Trump administration will help the island manage the crisis.

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members called on Dr. Steven Dillingham, Director of the United States Census Bureau, to update Congress regarding changes to 2020 Census operations in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Over the last year, the CHC has met with the Census Bureau on a quarterly basis and worked with the Bureau to ensure an accurate count in the 2020 Census. CHC Members requested that the Census Bureau continue briefing their offices on the Bureau’s evolving plans and most pressing needs in order to ensure a successful count in light of the current public health crisis.

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to remotely process bond payments through an electronic bond (eBond) system so that families can follow social distancing guidance when paying for a detained loved ones’ bond. The current system, which requires family members to pay bonds in-person in cash or via mailed check, causes delays in the release of detainees and risks exposing family members and Enforcement and Removal Office (ERO) personnel to the novel coronavirus. Allowing for expedited and immediate payment of cash bonds using the existing eBonds portal will help protect public health and safely reduce ICE detention numbers

Washington, D.C. – Today is Census Day, the day used by the U.S. Census Bureau as a reference point for the 2020 Census to determine who is counted and where they are counted. Census Day is not a deadline, and households can continue to respond to the 2020 Census until August 14th. In order to ensure that 2020 Census operations do not contribute to the spread of COVID-19, the Census Bureau recently announced that it is taking necessary actions to delay in-person census outreach. The response rate to the 2020 Census is currently lower than it was at the same point in the enumeration period in 2010. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chairwoman Judy Chu, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro, and CBC Census 2020 Task Force Chairman Steven Horsford released the following statements:

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) leaders called on Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redford to take necessary measures to protect farmworkers and their families during this public health crisis. Throughout this public health crisis, there has not been a day when these essential workers have stopped showing up to work. At the same time, farmworkers often do not have the necessary resources or information, health benefits, or direct cash assistance as other US workers. As we mark the last day of Farmworker Awareness Week and Cesar Chavez Day, our government must work to address any ongoing and emerging needs farmworkers may have and ensure that farmworkers are not left behind as they continue to work through this public health crisis in order to guarantee food reaches American grocery stores.

WASHINGTON — Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), CHC members, and immigration experts will discuss why the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must immediately release non-priority and low-risk detainees, vulnerable immigrants, and migrant children from US custody, as federal detention facility conditions leave detainees extremely vulnerable to the novel coronavirus. ICE facilities have shown themselves to be ill-prepared to provide adequate medical care to vulnerable detainees and have had issues containing outbreaks. Further, ICE often has to rely on local medical facilities to treat ill detainees. The novel coronavirus is a significant threat on a far greater scale. ICE’s failure to reduce detention numbers and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 has a real possibility of creating a severe health crisis for detention centers and overwhelming local health care facilities.

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Members called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield, MD to provide further information on the CDC’s Order that restricts the entry of migrants and asylum seekers into the United States as way to protect against the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Given the Trump Administration’s proven anti-immigrant record, many fear that DHS is using the CDC’s recent order as a way to deny our legal obligation to asylum seekers, including some unaccompanied migrant children. It is in inappropriate for the Trump Administration to use this public health crisis as a pretext to send hundreds of asylum seekers and children back to dangerous conditions, where they may face oppression, persecution and even death.