WASHINGTON — The largest coalition representing Latino interests in the U.S. said Thursday that it wants the winner of the Nov. 3 presidential election to focus on Hispanic priorities, including more hiring of Hispanics and increased disaster relief funds to places affected by climate disasters such as Puerto Rico and California.
The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which represents more than 40 Latino advocacy groups, unveiled its Latino public policy priorities for the next four years and called on elected officials from the president and Congress to local and state officials to remember that there are more than 60 million Hispanics in the U.S., making it the largest minority group.
“The U.S. Latino community could be its own G-8 country,” said NHLA Treasurer Amy Hinojosa. “We are the fabric of this country.”
Among the coalition’s economic priorities are increased government cooperation with Hispanic organizations to promote hiring and training within the community and creating strong accountability mechanisms to encourage government agencies to meet diversity hiring targets.
The agenda also called for policies and programs that would allow for the development of climate-resilient Latino communities as well as for effective disaster relief funds to places affected by climate disasters, including Puerto Rico and California. GreenLatinos President Mark Magaña said the 2020 agenda “contains our most ambitious and comprehensive environment and energy policies to date.”
“The majority of U.S. Latinos live in areas that have experienced extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico, and the strong wildfires in California and the southwest,” Magaña said. “We need to deliver an equitable and just solution.”
NHLA Chair Thomas Saenz said the priorities are “intended to provide a road map for our country. It is intended to be an inclusive agenda to serve the needs of our populations in the U.S.”