The appointments of Alexander Mayorkas, as Secretary of Homeland Security; Xavier Becerra, as Secretary of Health, and Miguel Cardona, as Secretary of Education of the United States, show that the President-elect Joe Biden it will fulfill the representation of at least 20% of people of Latin origin in its administration, which reflects the importance of the Hispanic vote in the country.
(You may be interested in: Donald Trump refuses to sign the US economic relief law. UU.).
During his campaign, Biden claimed that Latinos represent almost 20% of the population in the United States andwhere the country’s “future”, and has deemed it “ridiculous” to continue President Donald Trump’s policies.
“I’m not trying to be diligent, I’m not trying to be kind, you are the future of the country. I’m serious, I really am,” Biden said during a speech when he was a Democratic candidate, at an event with Hispanic community leaders in Las Vegas. Vegas (Nevada).
From that moment on, Biden called for an end to the cycle in which Latinos, in good times, are forgotten, and in bad ones they are the first to head the list of problems and, even worse, the last to be cared for. .
(Besides: Trump pardons 20 people, including two convicts in the Russian plot).
Latinos make up 18% of the total population of the United States and nine out of ten Latinos under the age of 18 are born in the United States, so the new administration is expected to show interest in this population, after that the Trump administration is tightening migration policy of country, where it is estimated that around eleven million undocumented people reside.
Migrants to the United States
Faced with this scenario, the recent Latin appointments for the new Biden government are the mouthpiece of some others who are expected to consolidate a diverse cabinet, also made up of others. minorities, such as African Americans, people from the LGBTIQ + community, Indians, and a good number of women.
(You may be interested in: This is the various cabinet made up of Joe Biden).
Biden hopes these appointments will enable him to achieve much of his campaign promises around Latinos and migrants in general, such as better access to health and education, financial support and job access, as well as the ambitious goal. of reforming the immigration system.
The first Latin selected to take over the leadership of the US Department of Homeland Security. UU. Is Alejandro Mayorkas, who arrived in the country after fleeing Cuba and who will face, according to Biden, “one of the most difficult jobs in government.”
“The DHS secretary has keep us safe from threats at home and from abroad“And their work plays a key role in repairing our broken immigration system,” Biden said when presenting in Mayorkas.
Cuban-American Alejandro Mayorkas was chosen to head the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Precisely, the Mayorkas nomination promises a 180-degree turn in US migration policy. UU. It seeks to not only regularize undocumented migrants, but temporarily suspend deportations and increase quotas for refugees.
At just one year old, Mayorkas emigrated to the United States in 1960. UU. Along with his parents after the triumph of the Cuban revolution. As a professional, in 1988 he became the youngest federal prosecutor in the country and led several lawsuits for corruption, money laundering and drug trafficking.
(Also read: Trump supporters are organizing an inauguration parallel to Biden’s).
Mayorkas was nominated in 2009 by then-President Barack Obama to head the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. UU., From where supported
the Dhaka Immigrant Rights Program, which granted work permits and protection against deportation to more than 700,000 young people who entered without documents when they were children.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was nominated to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
On the other hand, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was nominated by President-elect Biden to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.
In his 12 terms as Los Angeles’ representative in Congress, Becerra was a prominent defender of Latino rights and a strong supporter of the former President Barack Obama’s health program, A policy that is heavily attacked by Donald Trump and the Republican Party.
Becerra, 62, was elected California Attorney General in 2016, a position in which he succeeded in the Vice President-elect Kamala Harris after she entered the Senate.
(Read here: Women lead Joe Biden’s economic team to face the crisis)
Born in Sacramento, California, but with Mexican origins, he was the first Latin to hold this position. During his time in office, he also defended the Yes in front of the Supreme Court.
According to the newspaper The New York Times, Calf’s election came after the Hispanic Caucus in Congress expressed complaints about the lack of Latinos in the new government.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
The most recent announcement, reported by the American media on Tuesday, was the appointment of Miguel Cardona to the Education portfolio.
The appointment of this former and current public school teacher in charge of overseeing all schools in the state of Connecticut would further fulfill Biden’s promise to choose a professor as secretary of this department.
Cardona, born in Connecticut to Puerto Rican parents, has been the state’s secretary of education since 2019, a position from which he has had to oversee the distance learning of thousands of students due to the covid-19 pandemic, Not an easy task.
(Besides: Countries that will be a challenge for the Joe Biden administration).
When schools closed their doors, Cardona was quick to hand out 100,000 laptops to students in his state to make sure they could follow classes.
Cardona was a teacher at a public school in Meriden County, Connecticut, where he grew up, and then he held for ten years the office of director of education of that district, From where he supervised the teaching of 9,000 students and which earned him, in 2012, the recognition of best principal of the year.
Some pending appointments
Of the remaining departments to select, that of Justice is the highest level, A position that Biden’s office may not appoint before Christmas, a source familiar with the internal debate in the transitional government told CNN on Tuesday.
Among the members of the Biden work team are also several Latinos with experience in previous administrations, such as Anthony Bernal, Julissa Reynoso and Julie Chávez Rodríguez.
Chávez, granddaughter of civil rights leader César Chávez, will serve as director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. For their part, Reynoso and Bernal will work for the future first lady, Jill Biden.
(Read here: American immunologist Anthony Fauci receives vaccine against covid-19).
In addition, Alex Padilla, the son of Mexican migrants, was named Tuesday as a replacement for Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the United States Senate.
United, becoming the first Latin to represent California in the country’s upper house.
In a statement, Padilla pledged to “work every day to honor that trust and meet all Californians.” “We will get out of this pandemic together and we will rebuild our economy in a way that does not leave working families behind, ”he added.
Padilla, who oversaw the California postal vote in the November presidential election, was considered one of the favorites for the seat, with strong support from Latino groups.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
* With information from AFP
You may be interested in:
– Russia does not expect ‘anything good’ from the Joe Biden administration
– Chilean-based coronavirus outbreaks are reported in Antarctica
– Denying defeat and accusing fraud, a lucrative business of Donald Trump?