Press Releases

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE DISTRIBUTION
May 1, 2013

NHLA Leaders Join in White House Meeting to Strengthen Relations and to Advance Policies Impacting Latinos in the Americas

Washington, D.C. – Nine members of the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), a coalition of 34 of the nation’s preeminent Latino organizations, joined in a closed door meeting with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on Monday afternoon to discuss key priorities and concerns in advance of the President's trip to Mexico and Costa Rica. The White House reports that this week's travel marks the President's fourth trip to Mexico, his sixth trip to the region and an important opportunity to reinforce the deep cultural, familial, and economic ties that so many Americans share with Mexico and Central America. At the meeting, the President spoke of his vision for the Americas as a region of shared opportunity and emphasized that immigration reform continues to be a top legislative priority this year.

NHLA members in attendance at the White House Meeting included Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of LCLAA; Brent Wilkes, NHLA Vice-Chair and National Executive Director, LULAC; Janet Murguia, President and CEO, NCLR; Javier Palomarez, President & CEO,U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC); Yanira Cruz, President and CEO, National Hispanic Council on Aging; Arturo Vargas, Executive Director, NALEO Educational Fund; Tom Saenz, Presidentand General Counsel, MALDEF; Al Zapanta, President & CEO, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Jose Calderon, President, Hispanic Federation.

Reflecting on the meeting, NHLA leaders in attendance at the White House meeting shared the following statements:

“We were pleased to have the opportunity to talk with President Obama and Vice President Biden for nearly an hour about key Latino priorities. We are heartened by the President’s attention to our concerns and his commitment to continue to strengthen his relationship with the Latino community and its leaders,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of LCLAA. “In our talk, we commended him for his commitment to seeing immigration reform move forward and for his nomination of Thomas Perez as Labor Secretary. We also spoke directly about the need to keep working together to advance critical domestic and foreign policy issues affecting the Western Hemisphere -- ranging from immigration reform and the negative impact of deportations on families in the region, to labor rights, to the need to foster shared educational and economic opportunities, to the importance of ensuring better representation of Latinos in key federal decision-making roles. As the President travels to Mexico and Costa Rica, we hope he will heed our advice and use this opportunity to further build his relationship with Latinos both in the U.S. and abroad.”

"State and local legislation and policy -- such as SB 1070, most infamously -- can significantly and adversely affect our bilateral relations with other countries. Therefore, the supremacy of uniform federal policy on key issues like immigration and civil rights must be protected as a matter of our national interest. We are grateful to the President for the opportunity to discuss these and other critical issues prior to his important, upcoming trip to Mexico and Costa Rica," said Thomas A. Saenz, President and General Counsel of MALDEF.

“We are thankful to President Obama for seeking our advice on his upcoming visit to Mexico and Costa Rica. We encouraged him to expand our partnerships with Mexico and Central America by ushering in a new phase of greater economic collaboration as well as to emphasize the cultural and familial ties between our nations that grow stronger every year,” said Brent Wilkes, National Executive Director of LULAC.

“NALEO deeply appreciates the time the President and Vice President took to understand the perspective of U.S. Latino leaders with regard to U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere on the eve of the President's sixth trip to Latin America. It was a productive meeting, and an important opportunity to share with the President the importance for U.S. Latinos to ensure the United States continues strong cultural, social and economic ties with the region,” said Arturo Vargas, Executive Director of the NALEO Educational Fund.

“The U.S. Hispanic business community, with its cultural and linguistic strengths, is uniquely positioned to build U.S. business ties with Latin America,” said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of USHCC. “Over the course of his presidency, President Obama has worked to shift the dialogue of U.S.-Mexico relations from border enforcement and security to an agenda of economic development and building mutual prosperity. We thank the President and Vice President for this approach, which will create an enduring relationship based on shared interests.”

"The National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) commends President Obama and his administration for strengthening and elevating to a higher prominence the relationship between the United States, Mexico, Central America and the entire Western Hemisphere. His visit to Latin America is a positive development in the long-term relationship between the United States and its fellow nations of the Western Hemisphere. NHCOA hopes President Obama will strengthen the ties between the U.S. and the countries of Latin America. Particularly, we would like this trip to be the first step in enhancing the health care options available to older adults from the U.S. living in Latin America," said Yanira Cruz, President and CEO of NHCOA.

"President Obama and Vice President Biden were very attentive to the trade and economic issues between our countries, especially as it relates to the Trans Pacific Partnership, the EU trade talks and small and medium size business supply chain integration," said Al Zapanta, President & CEO of the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Treasurer of NHLA.

"We appreciate the opportunity to engage the President and the Vice President on issues of critical importance to Latin America and Latinos in the U.S. So much of our success as a nation is dependent on the ties and connections we have with this region and our community, and clearly the President and his cabinet get this. We look forward to a continuing dialogue and discussion with the White House on ways we can work to advance shared priorities and goals for our community and nation," said Jose Calderon, President of the Hispanic Federation.

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.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
| Melody Gonzales | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (202) 508-6917 |
| Brenda Arredondo | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | (915) 373-1483 |

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American GI Forum | ASPIRA Association, Inc. | Casa de Esperanza | Cuban American National Council | Farmworkers Justice | Hispanic Association of Colleges & Universities | Hispanic Federation | Hispanic National Bar Association | Labor Council for Latin American Advancement | Latino Justice PRLDEF | League of United Latin American Citizens | MANA, A National Latina Organization | Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund | NALEO Educational Fund | National Association of Hispanic Federal Executives | National Association of Hispanic Publications | National Association of Latino Independent Producers | National Conference of Puerto Rican Women | National Council of La Raza | National Hispana Leadership Institute | National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators | National Hispanic Council on Aging | National Hispanic Environmental Council | National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Hispanic Medical Association | National Institute for Latino Policy | National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health | National Puerto Rican Coalition, Inc. | SER – Jobs for Progress National, Inc. | Southwest Voter Registration Education Project | United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce | United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce | U.S. Hispanic Leadership Institute

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