Healthcare

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.

WASHINGTON— On Monday and again today, President Donald Trump in two tweets referred to the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as the “Chinese Virus.” He later doubled down on the use of this term during a press conference earlier today. This violates guidance issued by the World Health Organization and the promises by members of Trump’s own administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Robert Redfield, to refrain from using that term precisely to describe COVID-19 because it incites blame, racism, and hatred towards Asian Americans, putting them at risk for prejudice and violence. Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Chairwoman Judy Chu, Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro, Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman Karen Bass, and Congressional Native American Caucus Co-Chair Deb Haaland issued the following joint statement:

WASHINGTON – Today, the House Congressional Tri-Caucus, in a letter led by Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-03), called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to offer accessible translations of its materials related to the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak in all major languages spoken in the United States.

WASHINGTON— Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) Chairman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and CHC Immigration Task Force Chairwoman Linda T. Sánchez (CA-38) called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar to prepare plans for managing the spread of COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, within DHS and HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) facilities. The members also called on both departments to share plans for resource management, release of detainees, and treatment of individuals exhibiting symptoms.

WASHINGTON— The Congressional Tri-Caucus – which represents over half of the Democratic Caucus and includes the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) – called on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Chad Wolf to suspend immigration enforcement activities around hospitals and medical clinics in order to prioritize public health as communities across the country are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks. The members further request that DHS suspended implementation of the public charge rule in order to protect public health and for the agency to provide timely communications about any USCIS office closures.

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.