[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 169 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6808-S6809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, this month, I join the Nation in 
celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and the invaluable contributions of 
the Latino community to our country. Hispanic Americans comprise an 
integral part of the United States and form our Nation's largest ethnic 
minority. An estimated 60 million Latinos and Latinas currently live in 
the U.S., making our country home to the world's third largest Latino 
population. More than half a million of my fellow Marylanders identify 
as Hispanic or Latino.
  Some of our Hispanic residents are recent arrivals to this country, 
seeking safety and freedom unavailable in their countries of origin. 
Others trace their roots to our country's founding. All play a role in 
helping to shape our country for the better. Latino and Latinas form a 
crucial part of our Nation's Armed Forces, dutifully serve at all 
levels of government, play an active role in their local communities, 
and Hispanic-owned businesses contribute an estimated $473 billion in 
revenue to our economy and employ millions of people. Diversity is 
America's strength, and our thriving Hispanic communities are evidence 
of this.
  In spite of these contributions, many in the Latina and Latino 
community are suffering or being put at unnecessary risk due to the 
administration's policies. Cruel immigration practices have led to 
families being torn apart. Millions of Dreamers live in constant fear 
that they will be removed from the only country they have ever known. 
The decision to remove Temporary Protected Status, TPS, for El 
Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti worsens our national security and injects 
unnecessary fear and uncertainty into American families based on 
politics, rather than policy. Maryland alone would lose well over $1 
billion from our State's GDP without the workers who currently hold 
TPS. In Puerto Rico, over 3,000 American citizens died from the effects 
of Hurricane Maria, and the island still struggles to recover. Hispanic 
Americans increasingly face risks from prejudice, racism, and bigotry. 
Such policies and rhetoric directly undermine the values on which our 
country was founded.
  Hispanics and Latinos bear the disproportionate effects of these 
policies, and the entire country suffers as a result. When some of our 
best and brightest young students and our Nation's hardest workers fear 
for their future or are forced into the shadows, it can have a lasting 
and harmful effect on our communities, our economy, and our security.
  Hispanic Heritage Month marks a time to address these issues with

[[Page S6809]]

meaningful action rather than empty proclamations. Congress must 
finally pass a Dream Act to provide Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals, DACA, recipients with the protections they deserve, so they 
can continue their contributions to this country. It is time for the 
Senate to take up and pass S. 2144, legislation I introduced with 
Senators Van Hollen and Feinstein, to provide a pathway to legal 
permanent residency for TPS holders in the United States. We are long 
overdue with respect to passing comprehensive immigration reform.
  We must also address systemic issues in our healthcare, tax, and 
education systems, many of which are particularly harmful to Hispanic 
communities. Like all Americans, Hispanics deserve access to quality 
public schools, affordable and widely available medical care, and tax 
reform which reduces the burden for middle and low-income workers.
  We must further provide Puerto Rico with the resources and support it 
needs to recover. More than a year after Hurricane Maria, the situation 
remains desperate. Our fellow American citizens on the island deserve 
real support in their time of need.
  Hispanic Americans are facing immense challenges, but seek the same 
noble goals as all other Americans. Now is the time to stand with 
Hispanic, Latina, and Latino Americans against prejudice, divisive 
rhetoric, and harmful policies. In doing so, we will better uphold the 
ideals of our Nation and create a better country for all Americans.
  We must also address systemic issues in our healthcare, tax, and 
education systems, many of which are particularly harmful to Hispanic 
communities. Like all Americans, Hispanics deserve access to quality 
public schools, affordable and widely available medical care, and tax 
reform which reduces the burden for middle and low-income workers.
  We must further provide Puerto Rico with the resources and support it 
needs to recover. More than a year after Hurricane Maria, the situation 
remains desperate. Our fellow American citizens on the island deserve 
real support in their time of need.
  Hispanic Americans are facing immense challenges, but seek the same 
noble goals as all other Americans. Now is the time to stand with 
Hispanic, Latina, and Latino Americans against prejudice, divisive 
rhetoric, and harmful policies. In doing so, we will better uphold the 
ideals of our Nation and create a better country for all Americans.

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