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WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman Elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, this evening released the following statement in response to the tragic death of a seven-year-old in U.S. CBP custody:

WASHINGTON—Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led a letter signed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Chairman Elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General John Kelly following news of a 7-year-old girl who died last week while in the custody of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. The death, first revealed by the Washington Post, raises significant questions about the conditions in CBP’s short-term holding facilities, and the general suitability of such facilities for families given that Border Patrol stations were never designed to hold children. In their letter, the Members requested the IG’s office begin an immediate formal investigation with the expectation that DHS would quickly provide answers to Congress on why this tragedy happened, what policies may have been contributing factors in a young girl's death, and how it was never reported by CBP as directed by Congress in the statement accompanying the FY18 DHS Funding bill.

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) wrote to leadership of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding an immediate investigation into the tragic death of a 7-year-old girl from Guatemala who died on December 8, 2018, after being taken into custody with her father by CBP in Lordsburg, N.M.

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman-Elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus joined Congressman Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) in sending a letter this week demanding an explanation from the Administration on reports that they had removed a document titled “Marketplace Outreach: Best Practices for Outreach to Latino Communities” from its Health Insurance Marketplace website. The removed PDF was a slide presentation intended as a training resource for assisters. It focused on the challenges Latinos might face when enrolling for coverage and included guidance on making services culturally and linguistically appropriate.

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman-Elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), today made the following statement in response the President’s shutdown remarks:

WASHINGTON—Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chairman-Elect of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), and 25 CHC members submitted a comment opposing the proposed rulemaking changes to the “public charge” rule. In a letter to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Policy and Strategy Chief Samantha Deshommes, the Members highlighted that redefining public charge would harm immigrant families, pit survival of families against the hope for American citizenship, and endanger the ability of legal residents to continue on a path to citizenship if they seek any food or healthcare assistance for their children.

WASHINGTON—Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Member Rep. Ben Ray Luján (NM-03) made history this week by becoming the highest ranking Latino in U.S. House of Representatives as newly elected Assistant Democratic Leader. Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), CHC Chairman Elect, issued the following congratulatory statement: