Press Releases
February 25, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court 5-4 decision on Hernandez v. Mesa:
February 24, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) issued the following statement marking the implementation of President Trump’s public charge rule:
February 24, 2020
WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) members called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to meet with the Caucus to discuss his role in enacting President Trump’s agenda, including the Remain in Mexico policy, deportation of asylum seekers via “safe third country” agreements, the use of “tent courts” to conduct immigration court hearings, and the building of Trump’s border wall, among other topics. This request follows a series of meeting requests between the CHC and DHS. Last Congress, CHC met with then-Secretary of DHS John Kelly in 2017 and then-Secretary of DHS Kristjen Nielsen in 2018. DHS had confirmed a meeting with the CHC on May 23, 2019 but DHS cancelled the meeting after mass turn-over occurred in Department leadership in the spring of 2019.
February 13, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), issued the following statement in response to President Trump using transfer authority to reprogram $3.8 billion in military funding to instead fund border wall construction:
February 13, 2020
WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, introduced a resolution condemning the presence of white nationalist Stephen Miller in the White House and called for his immediate resignation from office. The resolution outlines how Miller has consistently followed and advocated for racist and white supremacist ideology in our nation. As Senior Advisor to President Donald Trump, he has pushed his vile beliefs forward through major policy changes which have sown divisiveness into our federal policy. His work in the Administration has encouraged a resurgence of racism and bigotry, creating a climate of fear, danger, and violence for communities of color and immigrants.
February 12, 2020
WASHINGTON— Congressional leaders called on Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to immediately terminate the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, otherwise known as the Migrant Protection Protocols. This policy has led to multiple human and civil rights violations at our border, while also causing the mass suffering of tens of thousands of migrants and asylum seekers. In the year since its implementation, at least 816 migrants have been assaulted, raped, or murdered while waiting under “Remain in Mexico.”
February 10, 2020
WASHINGTON — Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), issued the following statement in response to President Trump’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2021:
February 8, 2020
WASHINGTON— The Congressional Hispanic Caucus called on Delta to continue meeting with communities impacted by their January 14, 2020 fuel dump over the Los Angeles area. The incident rained jet fuel over at least six elementary schools where children were playing outside. Hundreds of children, including many Latinos, reported skin irritation and felt sick or nauseated, and may face long-term health consequences because of the incident. In the weeks since, Delta has stopped participating in some of the town halls and community meetings being held for those impacted by the fuel dump. These meetings serve as a venue for residents to share their concerns, learn about available resources, and attain answers to some of their questions as to why fuel was dumped on their communities.
February 6, 2020
WASHINGTON—Representatives Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Joaquin Castro, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, today demanded information from the State Department on recently announced rule changes impacting non-immigrant visa applicants seeking to visit the United States. In a letter to Assistant Secretary of State Carl Risch, the lawmakers called for more information about the rationale for the rule changes, reportedly designed to curb “birth tourism,” while underscoring the potentially significant consequences of the new rules.
February 4, 2020
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, today led a group of leading Democrats in calling on the State Department’s Inspector General to immediately open an investigation into the Trump Administration’s decision to terminate the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras. Joining Menendez and Castro in requesting the IG probe were House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel (NY-16), Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Chairman Albio Sires (NJ-8), and Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship Chair Zoe Lofgren (CA-16).