PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
September 25, 2015
LATINO LEADERS ECHO POPE FRANCIS' CALL FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE AND HUMANE IMMIGRATION POLICIES
Washington, D.C. – The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 40 of the nation's most preeminent Latino organizations, released the following statement in response to His Holiness Pope Francis' address to a joint meeting of Congress, where he emphasized putting human dignity first on issues such as economic justice and immigration.
“I welcome Pope Francis’ call to reaffirm our principles of liberty and justice. It is time for Congress to act on the most important policies that will give our most vulnerable in our communities the dignity that all humans deserve, including our undocumented immigrants,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement.
"In calling for centering debate on issues like immigration around reciprocal humanity, Pope Francis provides a resounding message for our nation's political leaders," stated Thomas A. Saenz, NHLA Vice Chair and President and General Counsel of MALDEF. "Dehumanization and demagoguery on these issues can have no foothold in a nation like ours."
“As the Pope made mention, we cannot turn our backs on the vulnerable, the poor and those who are seeking to create a better life for themselves and their families or those who are seeking refuge from violence. We hope that Congress takes his message to heart by pursuing policies that will help to lift more Americans out of poverty and treat immigrants with justice and humanity,” said Janet Murguia, President and CEO, NCLR.
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Established in 1991, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) brings together Hispanic leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit www.nationalhispanicleadership.org and follow @NHLAgenda.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
| Teresa Acuña | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |
| Estuardo Rodriguez | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202)463-4806 |
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