I am a proud son of two Dominican immigrants. My parents came to seek a better life in the United States, landing in New York City with the American Dream in their eyes.
When I was 10, we moved to Philadelphia.
I saw around me a city — and a Commonwealth — that not just tolerated its Latino neighbors, but fully embraced us and appreciated all we did to make the fabric of our communities even more colorful.
But I remember a day in June of 2015 that changed everything, and I would bet you that many of my fellow Latinos remember that day, too — the day Donald Trump rode down his golden escalator shortly before calling Mexicans “criminals” and “rapists.”
The narrative shifted. Suddenly the uglier, more hateful voices in our society that had been mostly relegated to the shadows had a champion — and they felt free to finally speak the truths they’d been holding in.
Yet since Trump was elected, he has instituted some of the most backwards, draconian, and painful policies ever inflicted upon Latino communities.
Extreme immigration laws that detained and deported our Latino brothers and sisters with glee. Asylum seekers cruelly turned away at the border. Babies ripped from the arms of their mothers.
An economy that favored donors and wealthy CEOs instead of minority small business owners like my parents.
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His disastrous handling of Hurricane Maria, which ended up resulting in the deaths of thousands of Puerto Ricans.
The systematic dismantling of a health care system that had already been disproportionately cruel to Latinos seeking life-saving care — not to mention a blind eye turned toward a global pandemic killing Black and Brown Americans in highly disproportionate numbers.
Pennsylvania’s Latino communities know the stakes of this upcoming election. The fact that we’re so acutely aware of those stakes makes me hopeful. Mark my words: Pennsylvanians will make Joe Biden the 46th President of the United States.
Under a Joe Biden presidency, we as a country will return the values that unite us. We are a nation of immigrants, and Biden — unlike his opponent — understands that.
In the plan for Latino communities Vice President Biden released this week, he explains specifically how he’s going to be a President who fights for our families.
First, Biden will work with Congress to reshape our nation’s immigration laws to honor our values and actually reflect reality. . Immigrants don’t “take our jobs” or flood our streets with drugs; they enrich our communities and make us a more prosperous country.
From our kids’ earliest days, Biden will work to eliminate the disparities that exist for Latino children trying to access a quality education — from high-quality pre-K for all, to affordable higher education.
We know that Latinos, along with Pennsylvania’s other communities of color, face some of the biggest hurdles in trying to access the life-saving health care we need. Unlike Donald Trump, Joe Biden believes health care is a right for all — not just a privilege for the wealthy. That’s why he will work to eliminate the glaring disparities in access to affordable health care that Latinos so often face.
Health care and economic disparities have been made extremely clear during the coronavirus pandemic as our communities have disproportionately suffered as a result of the Trump administration’s failed response.
Latino-owned small businesses, like the grocery store my parents opened up when I was a kid, have been hit hard as many in our communities struggle and lack the resources to keep businesses afloat.
Joe Biden understands this struggle and I know he’ll make it a priority to ensure minority-owned small businesses, and specifically those in the Latino community, are able to bounce back and thrive. He’ll invest in these minority-owned small businesses and work to achieve real economic mobility for Latinos.
Latinos represent the lifeblood of so many communities in our Commonwealth and across our country. We represent more than half the growth that Pennsylvania’s population has seen over the last 20 years or so.
Put simply, Latinos are our future and we need a President who won’t demonize us for political gain, but will work doggedly for our families, our businesses and our communities to thrive.
I have no doubt that President will be Joe Biden.
Es por eso que los latinos están todos con Biden.
By: State Representative Danilo Burgos
* Danilo Burgos was elected to serve his first term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in November 2018, representing neighborhoods in north Philadelphia including Kensington, Hunting Park, Glenwood and Feltonville. He is the first Dominican elected to serve in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
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