Herein Is to Be Reproduced Or Adapted to Other Works Without the Expressed Written Consent of the Editors of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy

Home , Alejandra Campoverdi, Max Cleland

Spring 2021

Harvard Kennedy School JOURNAL OF HISPANIC POLICY A Harvard Kennedy School student publication Harvard Kennedy School JOURNAL OF HISPANIC POLICY A Harvard Kennedy School student publication

Volume 33 Copyright

All views expressed in the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the editorial staff of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, the Executive Advisory Board of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, or any associates of the journal.

© 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise specified, no article or portion herein is to be reproduced or adapted to other works without the expressed written consent of the editors of the Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy.

ii Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Executive Advisory Board

Gail M. Smith Jim R. Carr CEO Former Chair, Harvard Kennedy Impacto Latin News School Journal of Hispanic Policy Executive Advisory Board Georgina C. Verdugo Former Director, Office for Civil Daniel Garza Rights, US Dept. of Health and President, The Libre Initiative Human Services Juan Salazar Hilda Polanco Director of Local Policy and CPA, CGMA, CCSA Community Engagement, Facebook Founder and CEO, Fiscal Management Associates, Margaret Lezcano LLC (FMA) Managing Director, Head of Southeast Public Finance, UBS Inc. Grace Flores-Hughes Vice Chair, F&H 2 Inc. Henry A.J. Ramos Member Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy Alejandra Campoverdi School Journal of Hispanic Policy Founder, The Well Woman Coalition Executive Advisory Board

Genoveva L. Arrellano Owner and Principal, Staff Arellano Associates Daniel A. Estupiñan Sergio Levin Co-Editor-in-Chief, 2020-2021 Independent Advisor in graduate education programs Miguel Angel Peña, MD Senior Editor - Print Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Ph.D. Founder and Board Member, Raquel Sofía Sandoval Las Comadres para Las Americas Print Editor Trustee, Austin Community College District Max Espinoza Print Editor

Volume 33 | 2021 iii A Note of Gratitude to Longtime HKS Journal of Hispanic Policy Executive Advisory Board Member Kenneth C. (Ken) Burt

In a recent Facebook post, Kenneth C. (Ken) Burt announced that he has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. This is hard news to absorb about a cherished colleague who has done so much to advance the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy’s work and the cause of justice for Latino Americans. Ken, who is a Kennedy School graduate (MPA ’84) and the longest-serving member of the journal’s Executive Advisory Board, has also suffered in recent years from Parkinson’s Disease. Over the years, as political director of the California Federation of Teachers, Ken has been one of the nation’s most important strategists and donors in national Democratic Party circles. He has worked with iconic Latino/a leaders—from the late Los Angeles Con- gressman Edward Roybal to UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta and from the late legendary voting rights activist Willie Velasquez to the recently appointed US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. During his impressive career, Ken additionally advanced our community’s standing in his dealings with leading non-Latino political figures, including former President Bill Clinton, former California Governor Jerry Brown, and the late US Senator and Kennedy School champion Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy. We publish this appreciation of Ken’s many good works on behalf of Latinx community advancement in the United States with a deep appreciation of the role he has played as an ally, a cherished friend, and an exemplar of the best of what America has to offer. We wish him and his family peace and enduring love during this very difficult time.

—Henry A. J. Ramos, Founding Editor, MPA ‘85

iv Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Table of Contents

Editors’ Note 2

Commentary 5 Lessons from California, Arizona, and Georgia on Latino Organizing and Political Power in the Face of an Aging White Electorate and Majority-Minority Nation, Sonja Francine Marie Diaz, JD, MPP

Commentary 16 Policies, not Personality: The Defining Characteristic of the 2020 Latino Vote, Daniel Garza

Research 26 Seeking Representation: College-Educated Latinos and Elected Office, Amilcar Guzmán, PhD, and Alberto F. Cabrera, PhD

Opinion 42 Making the Invisible Visible: Health, Data, and Race-Conscious Latinidad, Tomás Díaz, MD, and Mark Díaz, PhD

Commentary 46 The Great American Pandemic Recovery: Tackling Systems of Inequality that Impede Full Latino Inclusion in the COVID-19 Response, Carlos A. Guevara, JD, and Emily Ruskin, MPA

Commentary 57 Mitigating the Impacts of Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence on Latino Children in California, Marina Sangit, MPP

Commentary 69 Digitalization and the Latino Workforce, Juan Diego Mazuera Arias

Research 79 Queremos Transformar Comunidades: Incorporating Civic Engagement in Promotor-Led COVID-19 Response Efforts in Latinx Communities, Gloria Itzel Montiel, PhD; Kyle J. Moon; Patricia J. Cantero, PhD; Laura Pantoja; Hilda M. Ortiz; Sarai Arpero; Adela Montanez; and Saira Nawaz, PhD, MPH

Opinion 102 Affordable Housing and Latinx Families: An Opportunity for Relief in the Current Pandemic, Jorge Iván Soto, Alexis Smyser, and Andrew Cobian Editor’s Note

As I reflect on the events of the past year, I am struck by the extent of the pain and hardship that many people in our community have experienced during the pandemic. Virtually every family in our community has been touched by the unprecedented economic and public health crisis that we are still enduring, with far too many people having felt the loss of a loved one or been deprived of access to basic economic necessities. Pervasive inequities in education, healthcare, and housing have only been exacerbated by the pandemic, with much of the burden being borne by communities of color. Even as we continue on the path to recovery and a return to some form of normalcy, the benefits of our attempt at a national renewal are once again being distributed in a grossly inequitable way that only perpetuates this nation’s longstanding tradition of upholding exclusion and inequity. Since the beginning of the pandemic, millions of people in the Latinx community have courageously served as essential workers. Their bravery and sacrifice ensured that our hospitals continued to provide life-saving care to those stricken by COVID-19, our youth could continue to look to our public schools for support and guidance, and every American did not have to endure the shortages of basic necessities that we experienced early in the pandemic. The very survival of American society was ensured by millions of Latinx people whose sacrifice was not reflected in their pay, whose identities forced them to endure systemic racism, and whose government largely failed to ensure their safety and economic well-being. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic, 2020 gave us an opportunity to reflect on the values and norms that define our nation’s approach to racial injustice, economic inequity, and disparities in political representation. The murder of George Floyd forced a long-overdue national discourse over the extent of police violence in the United States and contributed to the political mobilization of millions of young people. Yet, as we stand together and proclaim that “Black Lives Matter,” we must also recognize anti-Blackness in our own community. In doing so, we must collectively strive to amplify the voices of Black Latinx, many of whom are disproportionately impacted by chronic poverty, lower health outcomes, and a lack of political representation.

2 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Like much of 2020, the 33rd volume of the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy highlights the social, economic, and political inequities that are pervasive in American society. The pieces contained in this volume reflect a critical view of current policy and provide various methods for promoting greater inclusivity and responsiveness in the formu- lation and implementation of public policy. Several of the volume’s pieces provide insight into how each of the two major political parties navigated the complex political ideologies in the Latinx community during the 2020 presidential election. The volume also briefly explores inequities in access to affordable housing, the systemic discrimination that was imbedded in the federal government’s response to the pandemic, and the tragic persistence of domestic violence among Latinx children. In recognition of the unique challenges that the Black Latinx community continues to face both within and outside the Latinx community, this volume also provides a perspective on how we can prevent the erasure of Black Latinidad. Each piece in this volume provides insightful commentary and research that I hope fosters conversation on the opportunities and challenges facing the Latinx community. I am thankful to the members of our Executive Advisory Board for their continued dedication to supporting and empowering the journal’s staff as we sought to amplify the voices of our community. In particular, I would like to thank Gail Smith and Grace Flores-Hughes for their support and guidance throughout the past year. I would also like to thank Martha Foley, Assistant Director of Student Services, and Professor Richard Parker, our faculty advisor, for their continued dedication to student-run policy journals at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Finally, I am also grateful for the support of the entire editorial team. Each of you came together and invested your time and passion into this journal, and I am sincerely grateful for your strength and dedication in amplifying the voices of Latinx and Hispanic communities throughout the United States. My experience leading the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy would not have been the same without the support and perspectives that each of you provided to this project.

Volume 33 | 2021 3 It is my sincere hope that the 33rd volume of the Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy informs our continued national dialogue concerning racial injustice, economic inequity, and disparities in political representation. In a year where the survival of our democracy was thrust into question by a resurgence of far-right extremism and white supremacist ideology, our pursuit of bold and visionary policy change is more critical than ever. Making our voices heard will ensure that future generations have an opportunity to live in a truly equitable and inclusive society.

Sincerely, Daniel A. Estupiñan Co-Editor-in-Chief, 2020-2021

4 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Commentary Lessons from California, Arizona, and Georgia on Latino Organizing and Political Power in the Face of an Aging White Electorate and Majority-Minority Nation

Sonja Francine Marie Diaz, JD, MPP

Dedication: and policy issues of statewide and In honor of Jeanette Marie Acosta national importance, including Harvard Kennedy School Alumnus ’12 Former Managing Editor, civil rights, consumer protection, Journal of Hispanic Policy criminal justice, immigration, and privacy and technology policy. Sonja Diaz is a practicing civil In 2016, Diaz directed a robust rights attorney and policy advisor. voter protection program to As Founding Director of the support Democratic candidates UCLA Latino Policy & Politics in Virginia as part of the Clinton- Initiative (LPPI), Diaz co-founded Kaine presidential campaign’s the first multi-issue policy think battleground state apparatus, tank focused on Latinos in the including a commonwealth-wide University of California. Prior election monitoring program for to LPPI, Diaz served as Policy language minorities. Diaz has Counsel to Vice President Kamala also managed domestic policy D. Harris during her first and portfolios at three California second terms as California’s nonprofits, clerked in the White Attorney General, managing legal House’s Domestic Policy

Volume 33 | 2021 5 Council during President Barack a University of Michigan Public Obama’s first term, and supported Policy & International Affairs litigation efforts at MALDEF, fellow, valedictorian of People the Civil Rights Division of the for the American Way’s Frontline US. Department of Justice, and Leaders Academy, and LatCrit’s California’s Bureau of Children’s unanimous student scholar Justice. awardee for her paper on Latino voting rights. Diaz routinely briefs state legislators and local elected officials from With the United States projected to across the United States on become a majority-minority nation by evidence-based governance and the year 2043, California is a critical case study on the power of organizing emerging trends in domestic policy. Latino voters as pundits try to make Her research and commentary sense of the 2020 presidential election has been mentioned in major and the nation’s political future.1 news outlets, including The New Across the country, we saw margin- York Times, The Washington Post, alized voters—those who face the most barriers to accessing the ballot The Los Angeles Times, NBC, box—turn out in record numbers NPR, Politico, and Univision. She amidst a global pandemic, widespread is a contributing political analyst misinformation and disinformation to KTLA 5, a benchmark of Los campaigns, and sophisticated voter suppression.2,3,4 The Democrats’ 2020 Angeles news television. successes at the top of the ticket were made possible by a coalition of Black, Diaz received her law degree Latino, Asian American, and Indig- from University of California enous voters who were mobilized Berkeley’s School of Law, holds by a cadre of community-based civil society organizations that operate with a master’s degree in public policy a fraction of resources and encapsu- from UCLA’s Luskin School of late a longer-term vision for lasting Public Affairs, and a bachelor’s political change.5 A confluence of fac- degree in politics from University tors, including changing population of California Santa Cruz. She is dynamics and a medley of existential crises that exposed widespread cracks

6 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy across American domestic policy, Moreover, California plainly illustrates have irreversibly altered the electoral for liberals the consequences of failing map.6,7 Ultimately, data from the to accelerate Latino political mobi- last two elections makes clear that lization and of steamrolling diverse Latino voters have a central role in Latino candidates from competing for shaping electoral outcomes.8,9 The key statewide offices such as governor, UCLA Latino Policy and Politics US senator, and attorney general. For Initiative estimates that 16.6 million both parties, California presents a de- Latino voters cast a ballot in the 2020 mographic future that is taking shape presidential election, representing across key battleground states across a 30.9 percent increase in ballots the United States. Whether or not cast between 2016 and 2020; this is other states’ populations will become nearly double the nationwide growth Latino pluralities like California or (15.9 percent) and the single largest majority minorities is only one part four-year increase in the Latino vote of the calculus.11 The real question ever.10 Candidates, political operatives, is how these demographic changes and organizers seeking to recalibrate will challenge the policy preferences electoral strategies to harness the of an aging white electorate that is lessons learned from 2020, especially too often inapposite to the needs of the electoral transformation of Ar- a majority-minority nation.12 izona and Georgia, are best served In the mid- to late 1990s, Cali- by reacquainting themselves with fornia’s conservative powers made Latino political mobilization in 1990s innumerable tactical failures to bring California and accepting the ways about the state’s current political in which an emerging and youthful reality. Not only did they refuse to electorate of color counteracts the integrate a growing Latino community nation’s aging white electorate. into the core of the state’s political As political operatives and major infrastructure and policy agenda, but party leaders scramble to ascertain they actively passed measures that what worked and what went wrong would alienate that population for in 2020, one needs only to look at the long term. In 1994, California California for answers. California voters passed Proposition 187, which showcases for conservatives the fate prohibited undocumented immigrants of the Republican party if it continues from accessing public benefits. In to ignore changing demographics and addition to the passage of Proposi- promulgate nativist policy reforms that tion 187, Republicans advanced a curb economic opportunity and social series of other racist, xenophobic, inclusion for non-white Americans. and anti-Latino ballot initiatives that

Volume 33 | 2021 7 advanced mass incarceration, ended for the state’s economic recession affirmative action, and ended bi- and architecting a blueprint for re- lingual education for students with gressive state-level policies has left limited English proficiency.13,14,15 This the California Republican Party a type of regressive policy making set powerless and obsolete power broker off a spark of organizing and activism in the nation’s most populous and that has fundamentally shifted Cali- prosperous state.16,17 fornia’s political landscape, spurring The racist policies advanced by the rapid decline of the Republican Republicans in the 1990s was the Party in the state and ushering in a beginning of the end for their state new era of progressive politics on party because they underestimated issues ranging from immigrant rights the organizing it would spark and the to climate change. ability to build political power in a This Governor Pete Wilson-led community that they saw as poor and racist and anti-immigrant agenda— insignificant. The party failed to see which organizers are still working to the exponential growth that would dismantle today—succeeded in the happen within the Latino population short term but only to his detriment that would make them the plurality and that of the state’s Republican in the state. They also failed to look Party. In short, Wilson’s 1996 presi- forward and recognize that the citi- dential bid lasted only a month and a zen children of the undocumented day, foreshadowing the rapid demise immigrants they were denigrating of California’s conservative political would one day become a part of the elite. Now, under California’s top- electorate. two primary process, instituted in California has lessons for Demo- 2011, Republicans struggle to field crats too. Until Governor Gavin New- candidates that advance to a statewide som appointed Secretary of State Alex general election. And for seats in the Padilla to the US Senate to fill Vice US Congress, even once historically President Kamala Harris’s vacancy, red districts have turned blue. This has no Latino had ever occupied either left the Governor’s mansion and other of the state’s two Senate seats or the statewide constitutional offices solidly governor’s mansion for over 170 years. Democrat for the foreseeable future, Worse, the national Democratic Party both chambers of the statehouse with has yet to endorse a Latina or Latino Democratic supermajorities, and to run statewide for California Gov- growing Democratic control of once ernor or US Senate.18,19,20 At the turn solidly red House seats. Ultimately, of the century, Democratic leaders scapegoating Latino Californians elected to bypass the first Latino to

8 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy hold a constitutional office in more misguided perceptions towards voters than 120 years, Lieutenant Governor of color have left them with election Cruz Bustamante, as a write-in can- cycle after cycle of underinvestment didate during Democratic Governor and willful neglect. Looking towards Gray Davis’s 2003 recall election.21 2022 and 2024, party operatives and The Democrats’ willful neglect of a political candidates need only look to Latino write-in candidate of choice Arizona and Georgia for two clear-cut propelled body weight champion examples of the power that lies with and Hollywood action hero Arnold voters of color in national politics. Schwarzenegger to the governor’s Arizona and Georgia, two solidly mansion for two terms of Republican conservative states with influential policy responses to an energy crisis and Latino electorates, sent Joe Biden the Great Recession.22 The failure of to the White House and changed the state’s Democrats and the national the calculus of the US Senate.24 In party to advance a Latina or Latino to Arizona, the work of Latino and In- a top-tier position has left emerging digenous organizers from civil soci- electorates in and beyond California ety organizations like One Arizona, without a national figurehead for Mijente, Lucha Arizona, and others decades. This void is only now being were consequential in overcoming addressed by the 2016 appointment of a xenophobic state law, defeating Xavier Becerra to California Attorney racist Sheriff Joe Arpaio at the ballot General and the 2021 appointment box, ensuring a successful criminal of Padilla to the US Senate. conviction that was shortchanged by a An aging and declining white presidential pardon, and sending two electorate coupled with a growing Democrats to the US Senate. Simi- youthful electorate of color, who larly, the work of African American represented an estimated 30 percent community organizations in Georgia, of eligible voters in the 2020 presiden- including the New Georgia Project tial election, only serve to intensify and Black Voters Matter, joined by the need to mobilize the greatest Latino and Asian American leaders, share of new voters.23 Democrats greatly expanded the electorate by and Republicans will only continue hundreds of thousands of voters, driv- to pay the price for ignoring Latino ing up civic engagement, combating voters in mobilization, candidacy, and voter suppression, and successfully policy agenda formation for cycles to sending two Democrats to the US come. Even as voters of color have Senate, stripping Mitch McConnell consistently turned out for the Dem- of his leadership post. Ultimately, ocratic Party in reliable voting blocs, these victories were made possible

Volume 33 | 2021 9 not by political party bosses but by the first Latina was elected as Tucson’s community leaders in response to first female mayor, largely due to the the realized threats to dignity and 52 percent increase in ballots cast opportunity as a result of the lack of between 2014 and 2018 in the state’s substantive and descriptive representa- Latino precincts.27 Going into 2020’s tion from the local level to the White 54th legislative session, two Latinas House. They, like California in the held two of the top three positions in 1990s, are not the only states with the the state’s Democratic Party—House same characteristics to shape electoral Minority Leader Charlene Fernandez outcomes, but the potential for future and House Minority Whip Athena candidates and campaigns to replicate Salman. A scant two years later, Ari- these political transformations rely zona has delivered the Democrats a on moving Latino voters from the second US Senate seat and flipped periphery to the core. the state to Biden, the first Democrat Like Proposition 187 in Califor- to win the state’s presidential contest nia, Arizona’s 2010 SB 1070, a bill in almost a quarter century.28 Also that set up the strictest immigration in 2020, Arizona voters sent the first regulations in the country and en- Latina to statewide office by electing couraged racial profiling of Latino a Republican and a Democrat to the residents, along with the proliferation Arizona Corporation Commission, a of anti-Latino Republican leaders, feat that remains to be accomplished has mobilized a new generation of in neighboring California because progressive political power. Instead of the Democrats’ willful neglect of wallowing in despair, Latino or- of Latino candidates for top-tier po- ganizers committed to building a sitions.29 With the upcoming 2020 movement that would transform state Census count, Arizona is slated to politics. And in 2018, the first major gain a congressional seat, which, result of their hard work and the coupled with 2021 redistricting and power of Latino voters resulted in the the 2022 open gubernatorial race, first Democrat from Arizona being will determine how far the state has sent to the US Senate in an open truly come since SB 1070. race since 1975 and the fielding of Georgia provides yet another exam- a Latino gubernatorial candidate on ple of the power of civil society organi- the general election ticket against the zations in building the political voice incumbent Republican governor.25,26 of Black and Latino communities to Also in 2018, a number of State House swing elections, even in the face of districts flipped to Democrats along political spending that favors investing with one congressional district, and in a white electorate that increased

10 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy its support for Donald Trump from in the state gubernatorial primary 54 percent in 2016 to 57 percent in and sent her to the general election 2020.30 Georgia, like California and where she came within 0.4 percentage Arizona, has architected repressive points of Secretary of State Brian policies that seek to criminalize im- Kemp.39 Ultimately, Georgia’s place migrants, restrict immigrant student’s in electoral history was affirmed in access to public universities, restrict 2020, when the state gave Biden its 16 access to the voting box, and permit electoral votes, electing a Democrat racial terror.31,32,33,34 In 2011, Georgia to the White House for the first time passed HB 87 “to eliminate incentives since 1992.40 Although Latinos only for illegal aliens to cross into our state,” represented 3.6 percent of voters in taking a direct queue from California’s Georgia, these voters preferred Biden Proposition 187, Arizona’s SB 1070, to Trump by over 20 percentage points and countless other copycats.35 At the in high-density Latino precincts.41 time of the law’s passage, the share of Latinos’ preference for the Democrat Georgia’s Latino population grew by at the top of the ticket by a two-to- 66 percent between 2000 and 2010, one margin in the 2020 presidential and the number of eligible Latino election provided the slim margins voters in the state increased by 181 necessary to bolster African American percent—no doubt reshaping the voters’ overwhelming support of Biden state’s electorate and political status and send him to the White House. quo.36 Ultimately, as a result of the Just after the presidential race, Geor- anti-Latino legislation, labor shortages gians elected the first Latina District triggered an estimated $140 million Attorney, Deborah Gonzalez, after in agricultural losses, and officials in she overcame an unlawful attempt Georgia dispatched prisoners to the by Kemp to delay her election until state’s farms to harvest the fields.37 November 2022.42 One month later, a Ultimately, Black and Brown com- majority of Latino, African American, munities in Georgia mobilized in and Asian American voters, coupled response to restrictive policy making with a minority of white voters, sent that criminalized their fundamental two Democrats to the US Senate in rights and limited their social mobility. the January 5, 2021 runoff election.43 In 2016, Gwinnett County voters Senator Raphael Warnock became elected Brenda Lopez Romero, the the first African American to repre- first Latina elected to the Georgia sent Georgia in the US Senate; with General Assembly.38 In 2018, a co- Senator Jon Ossoff, they are the first alition of Black and Brown voters Democrats to be elected to those coalesced around Stacey Abrams seats since Senator Max Cleland’s

Volume 33 | 2021 11 1996 election. elections this decade will be the true With the swearing in of Padilla, test as to whether either party is com- Warnock, and Ossoff to the US Senate mitted to sustainability and viability by Vice President Harris—a daughter by expanding and engaging a youthful of California—the stories of Cali- electorate of color or destined to repeat fornia, Arizona, and Georgia do not the willful neglect of non-white voters have to be an anomaly for Democrats. in favor of an aging white electorate. Latinos are youthful and diverse, projected to make up 27.5 percent Endnotes of the US population by 2060.44 The capacity of Latino voters to cast a 1 Jonathan Vespa, David Armstrong, and Lauren Medina, “Demographic Turning Points for the ballot, cycle after cycle in and beyond United States: Population Projections for 2020 Arizona and Georgia, translates into to 2060,” US Census Bureau, Report Number immense political power as more P25-1144, 2020, https://www.census.gov/con- Latinos age into the electorate in tent/dam/Census/library/publications/2020/ places like Texas, North Carolina, demo/p25-1144.pdf. and Florida. Yet, the California lens 2 Drew Desilver, “Turnout soared in 2020 as nearly two-thirds of eligible U.S. voters cast offers a glimpse into how the changing ballots for president,” Pew Research Center, 28 demographics of our country can January 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/ fundamentally shift the political status fact-tank/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020- quo. But more importantly, they offer as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast- a model for what is possible through a ballots-for-president/. strategy of expanding the electorate by 3 Cooper Raterink et al., “Then and Now: How Online Conversations about Voter Fraud registering new voters of color, really Have Changed Since 2016,” Election Integrity understanding what their needs are, Partnership, 31 October 2020, https://www. and mobilizing them to cast a ballot eipartnership.net/rapid-response/2016-vs-2020. by prioritizing their candidacy in 4 Myrna Perez, “Election Lessons from 2020,” top-tier elections. Both parties have New York University Brennan Center for the opportunity to compete for these Justice, 28 December 2020, https://www. brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/ votes, and 2022’s open gubernatorial election-lessons-2020. races in Arizona, Maryland, and Texas 5 “This election, the system didn’t work—our and open US Senate races in North people did,” Prism Team, 7 November 2020, Carolina and Pennsylvania will be https://www.prismreports.org/article/2020/11/7/ the first test of which party is willing this-election-the-system-didnt-workour-peo- to truly compete by running Black ple-did. 6 Ruth Igielnick and Abby Budiman, “The and Brown candidates and investing Changing Racial and Ethnic Composition of in the mobilization of voters of color. the U.S. Electorate,” Pew Research Center, 23 Ultimately, the next two presidential September 2020, https://www.pewresearch.

12 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy org/2020/09/23/the-changing-racial-and-eth- Office, accessed 19 March 2021, https://lao. nic-composition-of-the-u-s-electorate/. ca.gov/ballot/1996/prop209_11_1996.html. 7 Bryan Walsh, “American society is teetering 15 “Proposition 277: English Language in on the edge,” Axios, 3 June 2020, https://www. Public Schools,” Legislative Analyst’s Office, axios.com/trump-george-floyd-america- accessed 19 March 2021, https://lao.ca.gov/ social-collapse-b566ae78-907c-41b7-992d- ballot/1998/227_06_1998.htm. be5e33521fb2.html. 16 Hans Johnson, Eric McGee, and Marisol 8 Matt Barreto, “Assessing Latino Vote Growth: Cuellar Mejia, “Just the Facts: California’s Pop- 2014 to 2018,” UCLA Latino Policy and ulation,” Public Policy Institute of California, Politics Initiative, 10 December 2018, https:// April 2020, https://www.ppic.org/publication/ latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ californias-population/#:~:text=With%20 LPPI_2018_vote2-1.pdf. almost%2040%20million%20people,45%20 9 Natalie Masuoka et al., “Democratic Primary million%20people%20by%202050. 2020: Analysis of Latino and Asian American 17 “Gross Domestic Product by State, 3rd Voting in 10 States,” UCLA Latino Policy Quarter 2020, BEA 20-69.” US Department and Politics Initiative, 25 June 2020, https:// of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis, latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ accessed 19 March 2021, https://www.bea.gov/ Super-Tuesday-Report-res2-1.pdf. sites/default/files/2020-12/qgdpstate1220_0.pdf. 10 Rodrigo Dominguez-Villegas et al., “Vote 18 “Governor Newsom Formally Appoints Alex Choice of Latino Voters in the 2020 Padilla to the U.S. Senate and Nominates Dr. Presidential Election,” UCLA Latino Policy Shirley Weber as Secretary of State.” Office of and Politics Initiative, 19 January 2021, https:// Governor Gavin Newsom, accessed 18 January latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ 2021, https://www.gov.ca.gov/2021/01/18/ Election-2020-Report-1.19.pdf. governor-newsom-formally-appoints-alex- 11 Mark Hugo Lopez, “In 2014, Latinos will padilla-to-the-u-s-senate-and-nominates-dr- surpass whites as largest racial/ethnic group shirley-weber-as-secretary-of-state/. in California,” Pew Research Center, 24 19 Matt Barreto et al., “Latino Vote Choice: Los January 2014, https://www.pewresearch.org/ Angeles County, an Analysis of the June 2018 fact-tank/2014/01/24/in-2014-latinos-will-sur- California Primary,” UCLA Latino Policy and pass-whites-as-largest-racialethnic-group-in- Politics Initiative, 1 June 2018, https://latino. california/. ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UCLA- 12 Juan Fernando Torres-Gil, “The Aging of a LPPI-LA-County-Vote-Final-2018.pdf. Majority-Minority Nation: Implications for 20 “Statement of Vote, June 7, 2016,” California the Emerging Latino Population,” UCLA Secretary of State, 15 July 2016, https:// Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, August elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2016-prima- 2019, https://latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/up- ry/2016-complete-sov.pdf. loads/2019/06/LPPI-FTG-Faculty-Brief61.pdf. 21 Matt Richtel, “The California Recall: The 13 “The Three Strikes and You’re Out Law,” Lieutenant Governor; Poor Showing Clouds Legislative Analyst’s Office, accessed 19 March Prospects of State’s No. 2,” The New York 2021, https://lao.ca.gov/analysis_1995/3strikes. Times, 9 October 2003, https://www.nytimes. html. com/2003/10/09/us/california-recall-lieutenant- 14 “Proposition 209: Prohibition Against Discrim- governor-poor-showing-clouds-prospects-state- ination or Preferential Treatment by State and s-no-2.html. Other Public Entities,” Legislative Analyst’s 22 Mark Z. Barabak, “Ten years after Gray Davis

Volume 33 | 2021 13 recall, California still feels effects,” Los Angeles Latino precincts compared to the almost 46 Times, 6 October 2013, https://www.latimes. percent he received in low-density Latino com/nation/la-me-california-recall-schwarzeneg- precincts. ger-20131006-dto-htmlstory.html. 29 Laura Gómez, “Arizona never elected a 23 Michael Herndon et al., “The Power of the Latina to statewide office until 2020, when it New Majority, A 10 State Analysis of Voters of elected two,” Arizona Mirror, 18 November Color in the 2020 Election,” UCLA Latino 2020, https://www.azmirror.com/2020/11/18/ Policy and Politics Initiative, 27 February arizona-never-elected-a-latina-to-statewide- 2020, https://latino.ucla.edu/wp-content/ office-until-2020-when-it-elected-two/. Note uploads/2020/02/10-state-report.pdf. that Lee Marquez Peterson, a Republican 24 See Dominguez-Villegas et al., “Vote Choice who was appointed to the commission in 2019, of Latino Voters,” noting that in Arizona, and Tolleson Mayor Ana Tovar, a Democrat, the size of the Latino electorate and their became the first Latinas to be elected to state- overwhelming support for Joe Biden flipped wide office in Arizona during the November the state from Republican to Democrat for 2020 election for the Arizona Corporation the first time since 1996. In Georgia, where Commission. the difference between the winning and losing 30 Sonja Diaz and Nick Gonzalez, “Commu- presidential candidate was roughly 12,000 nities of Color Delivered for Democrats, It’s votes, Latino voters’ strong support for Biden Time that Democrats Deliver for Them” and growth in votes cast helped tip the state in UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Initiative, favor of the Democratic ticket. Yet, incumbent 29 December 2020, https://medium.com/@ Republican Governor Doug Ducey crushed latino/communities-of-color-delivered-for- Garcia by nearly 15 points in the November democrats-its-time-that-democrats-deliver-for- general election; See Maria Polletta, “Doug them-329d07ab438d. Ducey re-elected governor of Arizona, 31 “Senate Bill 492,” Georgia General Assembly, defeating David Garcia,” Arizona Republic, 2008, https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/ 6 November 2018, https://www.azcentral. document/20072008/85984. Note that undoc- com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/06/ umented students are subject to out-of-state arizona-governor-election-results-doug-du- tuition at certain public institutions in Georgia. cey-david-garcia-2018/1809240002/. 32 “Board of Regents Policy Manual – Official 25 Barreto et al., “Latino Vote Choice.” Policies of the University System of Georgia,” 26 Maria Polletta, “Governor’s Race: Ducey wins University System of Georgia, accessed 19 Republican primary: Garcia nabs Democratic March 2021, https://www.usg.edu/policyman- nomination,” Arizona Republic, 28 August ual/section4/C327/. Note that Section 4.1.6 2018, https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/ bans students who are “not lawfully present” politics/elections/2018/08/28/arizona-gover- from enrolling at any institution in the Georgia nor-primary-election-results-2018/1047923002/. University System. 27 “Arizona Election Results,” The New York 33 “Democracy Diminished, State and Times, last updated 15 May 2019, https://www. Local Threats to Voting Post-Shelby County, nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/06/us/elec- Alabama v. Holder,” NAACP Legal Defense tions/results-arizona-elections.html and Educational Fund, 9 December 2016, 28 See Dominguez-Villegas et al., “Vote Choice https://www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/uploads/ of Latino Voters,” finding that Biden received Democracy-Diminished-State-and-Lo- almost 74 percent of the votes in high-density cal_Threats-to-Voting_Post-Shelby-County,Al-

14 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy abama-v.Holder__Political_Participation__. (and the Nation’s) Economy,” Center for pdf#page=14. Note Georgia’s contemporary American Progress, October 2011, https://cdn. voter suppression tactics, ranging from limiting americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/ early vote access to voter purges from the issues/2011/10/pdf/georgia_immigration.pdf, voter rolls to proof of citizenship requirements. noting an estimate that a severe labor shortage See also Allie Gottlieb, “The Struggle for and noting the losses from Arizona’s S.B. Voting Rights in Georgia,” The Regula- 1070 totaled $253 million in overall economic tory Review, 4 January 2021, https://www. output. theregreview.org/2021/01/04/gottlieb-strug- 38 “Election Summary Report Gwinnett County, gle-voting-rights-georgia/, noting that the November 8, 2016 General Election,” State of US Commission on Civil Rights found that, Georgia, 15 November 2016, https://www.gwin- among the states previously subject to preclear- nettcounty.com/static/departments/elections/ ance under the VRA, Georgia was the only pdf/11.15.2016_Official_General_Summary.pdf. state that had implemented voting restrictions 39 “Georgia Election Results,” The New York in every category the Commission examined: Times, 15 May 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/ strict voter ID requirements; documentary interactive/2018/11/06/us/elections/results-geor- proof of US citizenship; purges of voters from gia-elections.html. registration rolls; cuts to early voting; and closed 40 “Georgia Election Results.” or relocated polling locations. 41 Dominguez-Villegas et al., “Vote Choice of 34 France Robles, “The Citizen’s Arrest Law Cited Latino Voters.” in Arbery’s Killing Dates Back to the Civil War,” 42 Suzanne Gamboa, “Deborah Gonzalez makes The New York Times, 13 May 2020, https:// history as Georgia’s first Hispanic district www.nytimes.com/article/ahmaud-arbery-citi- attorney,” NBC News, 2 December 2020, zen-arrest-law-georgia.html. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/debo- 35 “HB 87 Illegal Immigration Reform and rah-gonzalez-makes-history-georgia-s-first-his- Enforcement Act of 2011,” Georgia General panic-district-attorney-n1249744. Assembly, 2011, https://www.legis.ga.gov/ 43 “Georgia Senate Runoff Election Results,” legislation/32190. See also Benjamin Powell, The New York Times, 5 January 2021, https:// “The Law of Unintended Consequences: www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/01/05/us/ Georgia’s Immigration Law Backfires,” Forbes, elections/results-georgia-runoffs.html. 17 May 2012, https://www.forbes.com/sites/re- 44 Vespa, Armstrong, and Medina, “Demographic alspin/2012/05/17/the-law-of-unintended-con- Turning Points.” sequences-georgias-immigration-law-backfires/?sh=20a18cfd492a. 36 Vanessa Cardenas and Angela Maria Kelley, “The Top 10 Things You Should Know About Georgia’s Demographic Changes and Immi- gration Politics,” Center for American Progress, 2 March 2012, https://www.americanprogress. org/issues/race/news/2012/03/02/11191/the-top- 10-things-you-should-know-about-georgias-demographic-changes-and-immigration-politics/. 37 Ibid. See also Tom Baxter, “How Georgia’s Anti-Immigration Law Could Hurt the State’s

Volume 33 | 2021 15 Commentary Policies, not Personality: The Defining Characteristic of the 2020 Latino Vote

Daniel Garza

Daniel Garza served as the considerable gains in places such as Associate Director of the Office South Florida and South Texas, they of Public Liaison under President still have some considerable work remaining to win the Latino vote. George W. Bush and later as a host In the end, specific policy issues and co-producer at Univision. He made the difference, not party loy- is currently the President of The alty or personalities. This alone is LIBRE Initiative, an organization remarkable given the backdrop of a committed to empowering the global pandemic and one of the most contentious and politically charged Hispanic community. presidential elections in recent history. Many Latinos decided to see past all of this and vote on the basis Introduction of issues like jobs and the economy, In the 2020 presidential and con- healthcare, education, and immigra- gressional elections, the Latino tion to a lesser degree. community once again proved that Of course, many Latinos voted we are a powerful and influential for the Democratic Party in 2020, demographic—and far from being a just like they have been doing for monolithic voting bloc. generations. As far back as the early Both political parties have been 1960s, Democrats have been investing put on notice. For Democrats, it in Latino outreach.1 They have also means they cannot take the Latino benefited from Democratic-lean- vote for granted. For Republicans, it ing advocacy groups, nonprofits, means that even though they made and labor unions that have long

16 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy prioritized Latino engagement. And they hope to build on in future elec- yet, as the 2020 presidential elections. For example, young Latinos tion showed, the Democratic Party overwhelmingly voted for Demo- cannot claim to have the Latino vote cratic candidates.5 Democrats hope locked down. these voters will remain loyal as they Republicans are playing catch- start a family, leave urban areas, and up. After assuming they could win a begin paying more taxes as their in- respectable share of the Latino vote comes rise. with nominal investment, Republi- Republicans can look to Florida cans have been increasingly ramping and Texas as proof that their message up outreach to Latino voters. And centered around limited government, instead of increasing their investments increased personal responsibility, and solely in election years, Republicans respect for traditional values resonates built an infrastructure in places that with some Latino voters. are not often perceived to have large Ultimately, the 2020 presidential Latino communities and in non-elec- election was beneficial to the Latino tion years. community because it means that On paper, it is clear that Democrats both parties must continue investing won the Latino vote in 2020.2 But resources into courting the Latino a more careful reading reveals that vote. It also means that Latinos will Republicans have reason to believe continue to have a seat at the table they can peel away more voters from of major policy issues. the Democratic Party, especially if Additionally, we are also seeing progressives continue pushing for a rise in Latinos running for office policies that will dissuade moderate at the local, state, and federal lev- and independent Latino voters with els.6 In 2021, the number of Latinos calls to “defund the police,” “Medicare in Congress increased to six in the for All,” and the “Green New Deal.” Senate and 46 in the House of Rep- Similarly, calls to reclassify Latinos as resentatives, including Republican Latinx “puzzled” many Hispanics, Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar according to a Politico article citing and Carlos Gimenez, who each upset conversations with more than a dozen Democratic incumbents in Florida.7 experts on the Latino electorate in six These wins were also coupled with states.3 One poll, conducted by Pew, other important Republican victories, found that 97 percent of Latinos do including Republican Representative not identify with the term Latinx.4 Mike Garcia, who won re-election Of course, Democrats have plenty in November after winning a special of places to point to as positive trends election in May of the same year.

Volume 33 | 2021 17 Jobs and the Economy real income by $3,100 per household To understand why the Republican over 5–10 years.12 Party exceeded expectations with the Rulemaking seldom makes front- Latino vote in 2020, it is helpful to page news, but its impact can have reflect on the years leading up to the a real and immediate impact on ev- election. Before the COVID-19 glob- eryday Americans. According to an al pandemic wreaked havoc on the analysis by the Bureau of Labor and economy, Hispanics were benefitting Statistics, in President Trump’s first from one of the fastest-growing and 21 months in office, 281,000 new vibrant economies in recent history. manufacturing jobs were created.13 For example, in the fall of 2019, the These number help explain why Latino unemployment rate was at a Roberto Barrera, a resident of Zapata historic low.8 Two years prior in 2017, County, Texas, voted for President the Latino poverty rate was similarly Trump in 2020 and helped the Re- low—its lowest level since estimates publican Party win the county for the were first published during the Nixon first time in 100 years.14 As someone administration.9 And on the eve of the employed in the oil and gas industry, pandemic, the National Association Zapata told a reporter that he made of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals his decision after hearing then-Vice released a report showing the Hispanic President Joe Biden say he would homeownership rate had increased “transition from the fossil fuel indus- for the fifth year in a row.10 try.” “The way I see it, they’d cut my These positive economic condi- job,” Barrera said.15 tions did not happen in a vacuum. Beyond deregulation, the Trump Since taking office, President Donald administration also enacted the largest Trump worked with Congress to em- tax relief in a generation. Despite brace pro-growth economic policies receiving no Democratic votes in that helped spur the private sector Congress, President Trump rallied to create jobs and expand economic support to enact the Tax Cuts and Jobs opportunity. Act of 2017, which simplified the tax Foremost, but perhaps least-no- code, lowered the corporate tax rate, ticed, Executive Order 13771 directed and provided tax relief to millions of agencies to repeal two existing regula- Americans. According to one analysis, tions for every new regulation creat- around 8 in 10 Americans reaped the ed.11 This decision may help explain benefits of tax relief.16 why a 2017 Council of Economic It is easy to gloss over this point, but Advisors report estimated Trump’s it is worth repeating: a large majority deregulation efforts would increase of Americans, including Latinos, were

18 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy able to keep more of their hard-earned of the largest displacement crises in money to save, spend, and invest as the world.20 they saw fit thanks to policies enacted While in office, President Trump by the Trump administration. took a hardline approach against the This did not go unnoticed. In Nicolas Maduro regime and sided with the closing months of the 2020 opposition leader Juan Guaido. In one presidential election, several Latino of the most public and high-profile small business owners organized a signs of the administration’s commit- roundtable in support of President ment to the Venezuelan pro-democracy Trump in South Florida.17 According cause, President Trump invited Guaido to the news article, the Tax Cuts and to the 2020 State of the Union Address. Jobs Act of 2017 was one of several President Trump’s support for reasons why they were supporting the Guaido and the pro-democracy cause incumbent. resonated with voters like Andreina Additionally, the Trump campaign Kissane of the Venezuelan American effectively packaged the administra- Republican Alliance, a group cre- tion’s commitment to pro-growth ated to bolster support for President economic policies and reminded Trump.21 Some of the most passionate Latino voters of the threat posed by Trump supporters among the Ven- big-government economic policies. ezuelan community began to call This pitch resonated with voters— themselves “Magazolanos,” a play on particularly those living in Florida, words between the Trump campaign who escaped communist Cuba and slogan “Make America Great Again” socialist Venezuela.18 and Venezolanos (Venezuelans in For the growing Venezuelan com- Spanish).22 munity in South and Central Florida, Beyond economic issues, President socialism is not an abstract concept; Trump recognized early on that Lati- it’s one many have personally lived nos comprised a sizable part of the through. In their lifetimes, they have social conservative coalition that highly seen their fairly prosperous country values faith. One recent study found decimated by socialist economic pol- that while 65 percent of Americans icies. In its wake, Venezuela’s poverty describe themselves as Christians— rate has skyrocketed as civil society and down 12 percentage points from the basic democratic institutions have been last decade—77 percent of Latinos destroyed or hollowed out.19 According identify as Christians.23,24 The same to the United Nations Refugee Agency, study found that nearly 84 percent of five million Venezuelans have left their Latinos deem faith an important part country in recent years, creating one of their lives.

Volume 33 | 2021 19 The president and his team sent House, it is clear that there was a de- a strong signal to Latinos that he also liberate and well-organized structure valued faith, family, traditional values, in place to consistently and effective- and religious freedom. Reverend Ga- ly communicate President Trump’s briel Salguero, founder of the National policies to the Latino community. Latino Evangelical Coalition, and the According to Dr. Ramirez, this was Reverend Tony Suarez, Vice President done by communicating to Latino of the National Hispanic Christian leaders across the country. The coali- Leadership Conference, said the tion included leading figures in local Trump campaign aggressively courted government, business, and the faith Latinos of faith with the creation of the community, among others. “Evangelicals for Trump” initiative These individuals were invited to and multiple visits to Spanish-speaking participate in conference calls with churches in Central Florida.25 high-ranking government officials, in- Ultimately, Latino evangelicals, cluding President Donald Trump. On particularly in Texas and Florida, may one occasion I was able to join one of have made the difference in favor of these calls and directly ask a question President Trump, according to Gaston on behalf of The LIBRE Initiative to Espinoza, a professor at Claremont President Donald Trump and express McKenna College and an expert on our concern about unnecessary and Latino voters.26 reckless government spending. Finally, Trump’s support of edu- Beyond conference calls, there cational freedom was also an import- were in-person meetings at the White ant part of his outreach to Latinos. House and across the country to help Although education policy typically the administration dialogue with happens at the state level, President members of the Latino community.28 Trump made a point of bringing up his For a community that values per- support for school choice in speeches sonal relationships and cooperation, and describing the ability of parents these meetings went a long way in being able to choose a school that signaling to the Latino community works best for their child as the “civil that the administration was genuinely rights issue of our time.”27 interested in hearing their concerns. This approach, according to Dr. President Trump’s Office of Ramirez, was authentic and one where Hispanic Engagement “people felt cared about and under- In conversations with Dr. Andrea stood.” Dr. Ramirez said that people Ramirez, the former director of were hungry for this type of personal Hispanic Engagement at the White engagement and felt like they were not

20 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy being pandered to but instead being whom to vote for based on pocket- treated as unique individuals with a book issues like jobs and the economy, wide variety of issues and concerns. healthcare, and education. Of course, I couldn’t agree more. immigration mattered to many Latinos Despite publicly voicing our op- in the 2020 presidential election, but position to certain policy issues, the like it has in previous elections, immi- White House welcomed my group and gration was seldom the most important I to various meetings, conversations, issue for many Latino voters. and social functions. The dialogue This was not entirely unique to was always respectful even when there 2020. In previous years, including were disagreements. during non-presidential elections, By the summer of 2020, the Trump Republicans have been able to remain administration had organized many competitive when pursuing the Lati- of these ideas in what he was calling no vote. There are several examples, the White House Hispanic Prosperity including the 2014 US Senate race in Initiative29, a detailed list of policy Colorado, where exit polls show Cory priorities geared towards expanding Gardner won about half of the Latino educational and economic opportu- vote, and in Texas, where Governor nity for the Latino community. Greg Abbott won more than 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2014 and in The Democratic Party’s 2020 2018.30,31 In both of these examples, Latino Strategy the candidates ran on pocketbook In 2020, the Democratic Party’s Latino issues like jobs, the economy, and outreach strategy was primarily intend- expanding opportunity. The point here ed to focus on President Trump’s per- is that the messenger matters, but so sonality. At every turn, the Democratic does the message. Party made it a point to tie the former Democrats can certainly take steps president with xenophobia and racism. to consolidate their share of the Lati- Several Spanish language media outlets no vote, but it is unclear if they will helped amplify this message. Although, be able to contain their party’s most unlike previous elections in which the progressive voices in order to appeal Republican Party and the Republican to more moderate, independent, and presidential nominee would look the conservative-leaning Republicans. other way in the face of personal at- Among the many lessons of the 2020 tacks, President Donald Trump pushed election was not just that sound policy back with varying degrees of success. was appealing to Latinos, but that Many Latino voters decided to see Latinos also rejected bad policies. past this and make their decisions on

Volume 33 | 2021 21 2020 and Beyond lasting impact on our local commu- As the Latino electorate continues nities and on our country. to grow, Latino voters may make the Of course, considerable work difference in close elections. As the remains. 2020 election proved, there are several In the short term, Latinos have states that are becoming increasing- been especially hard hit by COVID- ly competitive, including Georgia, 19.34 Latinos have a higher COVID-19 which has seen its Latino population death rate, and many are facing job double between 2000 and 2010 and loss and financial insecurity because is now surpassing one million.32,33 of pandemic-related restrictions on Like other voting blocs, Latinos the hospitality, leisure, retail and will demand more from elected of- construction sectors—industries that ficials and those running for office. employ a large number of Latinos. And as Latino community groups and Additionally, many Latino students civic organizations grow in influence, are unable to exercise educational Latinos will hold their local, state, and freedom and customize an educa- federal elected officials accountable to tion plan that works well for them the promises made on the campaign because of rigid restrictions that in trail. many places have been exacerbated Cutting a campaign ad in Span- by the pandemic. ish is not enough. Campaigns will Beyond jobs and education, Con- need to spend the time, energy, and gress has failed to address inefficien- resources to craft an ad that is au- cies in our country’s immigration thentic and speaks to the concerns of system, keeping far too many hard- the local Latino community that, at working and determined individuals times, can be different from one ZIP from being able to plan for a life in code to another. In short, the Latino the United States. electorate is maturing and becoming These are just some of the many increasingly discerning. barriers that are getting in the way All Latinos, regardless of politi- of each Latino being able to live out cal affiliation, should celebrate this his or her own American dream. But and demand more. For far too long, as long as the Latino community the Latino community was outside continues to make its multiple voices looking in, despite our rapid popu- heard and demand that our leaders lation growth. But in the span of one treat us like individuals with unique generation, this is now increasingly perspectives, the future is bright for changing as more and more Latinos us—and for our entire country. are running for office and leaving a

22 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Endnotes versity-increases-yet-again-with-the-117th- congress/. 1 Karen Grigsby Gates, “Mexi- 8 Maggie Fitzgerald, “Black and Hispanic can-American Vets Ignited Kennedy’s unemployment is at a record low,” Latino Support,” NPR, 21 November CNBC, 4 October 2019, https://www. 2013, https://www.npr.org/sections/ cnbc.com/2019/10/04/black-and-hispanic- codeswitch/2013/11/21/246412894/mexi- unemployment-is-at-a-record-low.html. can-american-vets-ignited-kennedys-lati- 9 Ashley Edwards, “Hispanic Poverty Rate no-support. Hit an All-Time Low in 2017,” United 2 Juana Summers, “Why Joe Biden Saw States Census Bureau, 27 February Mixed Success with Latinos,” NPR, 2019, https://www.census.gov/library/ 5 November 2020, https://www.npr. stories/2019/02/hispanic-poverty-rate-hit- org/2020/11/05/931378189/what-we-know- an-all-time-low-in-2017.html. about-the-latino-vote-in-some-key-states. 10 “Hispanic Homeownership Rate Increases 3 Marc Caputo, “Culture wars fuel for Fifth Consecutive Year,” The National Trump’s blue-collar Latino gains,” Association of Hispanic Real Estate Politico, 21 November 2020, https:// Professionals, 18 February 2020, https:// www.politico.com/news/2020/11/21/ nahrep.org/press-releases/2020/02/18/ culture-wars-latinos-trump-438932. hispanic-homeownership-rate-increas- 4 Luis Noe-Bustamante, Lauren Mora, and es-for-fifth-consecutive-year/. Mark Hugo Lopez, “About One-in-Four 11 “Reducing Regulation and Controlling U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Regulatory Costs,” Federal Register 82 Just 3% Use It,” Pew Research Center His- (2017): 9339–9341. panic Trends, 11 August 2020, https://www. 12 “The Economic Effects of Federal De- pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/11/ regulation since January 2017: An Interim about-one-in-four-u-s-hispanics-have- Report,” The Council of Economic heard-of-latinx-but-just-3-use-it/. Advisers, 2019, https://www.banking. 5 Nicole Acevedo, “Young Latinos senate.gov/imo/media/doc/The-Econom- mobilized, voted and were pivotal in 2020. ic-Effects-of-Federal-Deregulation-Inter- Organizers want to keep it going,” NBC im-Report.pdf. News, 27 November 2020, https://www. 13 “Trump’s Deregulation Binge Shows No nbcnews.com/news/latino/young-lati- Signs Of Ending,” Investor’s Business nos-mobilized-voted-were-pivot- Daily, 13 April 2018, https://www.inves- al-2020-organizers-want-keep-n1246853. tors.com/politics/editorials/trumps-dereg- 6 “Election 2020 Races To Watch; The ulation-binge-shows-no-signs-of-ending/ Power Of Latino Candidates,” NALEO 14 “Zapata County in Texas voted republican Education Fund, accessed 14 March 2021, for the first time in 100 years,” Interview https://naleo.org/COMMS/PRA/2020/ by Jeff Bell and Patti Reising with Jack RTW-10-29-20.pdf?_t=1603985730. Herrera, KCBS Radio, 21 November 7 Katherine Schaeffer, “Racial, ethnic 2020, https://www.radio.com/kcbsradio/ diversity increases yet again with the 117th podcasts/kcbs-on-demand-20757/zapata- Congress,” Pew Research Center, 28 county-in-texas-voted-republican-for-the- January 2021, https://www.pewresearch. first-time-in-100-years-350551338 org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/racial-ethnic-di- 15 Mitchell Ferman, “Donald Trump

Volume 33 | 2021 23 made inroads in South Texas this year. 21 Jesús Rodríguez, “Biden the ‘Socialist’ These voters explain why,” The Texas vs. Trump the ‘Caudillo’: The Battle Tribune, 13 November 2020, https:// for the Venezuelan Vote,” Politico, 19 www.texastribune.org/2020/11/13/ October 2020, https://www.politico. south-texas-voters-donald-trump/. com/news/magazine/2020/10/19/ 16 “T18-0026 - The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act venezuela-trump-florida-magazolano-vot- (TCJA): All Provisions and Individual er-429443. Income Tax Provisions; Tax Units with 22 Rodríguez, “Biden the ‘Socialist.’” a Tax Increase or Tax Cut, by Expanded 23 “In U.S., Decline of Christianity Contin- Cash Income Level, 2018,” Tax Policy ues at Rapid Pace,” Pew Research Center Center, Urban Institute and Brookings Religion and Public Life, 17 October 2019, Institution, 16 February 2018, https:// https://www.pewforum.org/2019/10/17/ www.taxpolicycenter.org/model-es- in-u-s-decline-of-christianity-continues-at- timates/individual-income-tax-pro- rapid-pace/. visions-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-tc- 24 “Religious Landscape Study,” Pew ja-february-2018/ Research Center Religion and Public Life, t18-0026. accessed 14 March 2021, https://www. 17 Antonio Fins, “Trump touts Hispanic pewforum.org/religious-landscape-study/ record in Florida, but detractors say, racial-and-ethnic-composition/latino/. ‘we know a dictator when we see one’,” 25 Jack Jenkins, “How Trump’s strong play The Palm Beach Post, 25 September for Hispanic evangelicals helped him 2020, https://www.palmbeachpost.com/ stun Biden in Florida,” Religion News story/news/politics/2020/09/25/trump- Service, 4 November 2020, https:// miami-we-know-dictator-when-we-see- religionnews.com/2020/11/04/how-his- one/3522027001/. panic-evangelicals-may-have-made-the- 18 Carmen Sesin, “Trump cultivated difference-for-trump-in-florida/. the Latino vote in Florida, and it paid 26 Kate Shellnut, “Latino Evangelicals Boost off,” NBC News, 4 November 2020, Trump in Florida and Texas,” Christi- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/ anity Today, 4 November 2020, https:// latino/trump-cultivated-latino-vote-flori- www.christianitytoday.com/news/2020/ da-it-paid-n1246226. november/latino-evangelical-voters- 19 “Venezuela poverty rate surges amid eco- trump-biden-fl-tx-az.html. nomic collapse, inflation -study,” Reuters, 27 Justin Vallejo, “Trump says ‘school choice’ 7 July 2020, https://www.reuters.com/ is the civil rights issue ‘of all time in this article/venezuela-poverty/venezuela-pov- country’,” The Independent, 16 June erty-rate-surges-amid-economic-col- 2020, https://www.independent.co.uk/ lapse-inflation-study-idUSL1N2EE1MG. news/world/americas/us-politics/donald- 20 “Venezuela situation,” UNHCR The UN trump-press-conference-school-choice- Refugee Agency, accessed 14 March 2021, civil-rights-a9569686.html. https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/venezue- 28 “Remarks by President Trump During la-emergency.html#:~:text=Over%20 Roundtable with Hispanic Leaders,” ac- 4%20million%20Venezuelans%20 cessed 14 March 2021, https://trumpwhite- have,world’s%20biggest%20recent%20 house.archives.gov/briefings-statements/ displacement%20crises. remarks-president-trump-roundtable-his-

24 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy panic-leaders/. 29 “White House Hispanic Prosperity Initiative,” Federal Register 85 (2020): 42683–42686. 30 Benjy Sarlin, “Latino vote hints at hope and danger for GOP,” MSNBC, 5 November 2014, https://www.msnbc.com/ msnbc/latino-vote-hints-hope-and-danger-gop-msna451811. 31 Geraldo L. Cadava, “How Latinos Could Redefine the G.O.P. in Texas,”New York Times, 2 November 2020, https:// www.nytimes.com/2020/11/02/opinion/ latinos-texas-republicans.html. 32 Kate Sweeney, “Data Dive: Metro Atlanta’s Latino Population Fast-growing, Young, and Diverse,” Atlanta Regional Commission, 24 July 2018, https://atlan- taregional.org/whats-next-atl/articles/metro-atlantas-latino-population-fast-growing-young-and-diverse/. 33 Jeff Amy, “Rising Latino voters could be force in Georgia Senate races,” Associated Press, 12 De- cember 2020, https://apnews.com/ article/donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-senate-elections-georgia-immigration-91e33080ad392ef66db132ba0a413bf3. 34 Jens Manuel Krogstad and Mark Hugo Lopez, “Coronavirus Economic Down- turn Has Hit Latinos Especially Hard,” Pew Research Center Hispanic Trends, 4 August 2020, https://www.pewresearch. org/hispanic/2020/08/04/coronavirus-economic-downturn-has-hit-latinos-especially-hard/.

Volume 33 | 2021 25 Research Seeking Representation: College-Educated Latinos and Elected Office

Amilcar Guzmán, PhD, and Alberto F. Cabrera, PhD

Amilcar Guzmán, PhD, serves of Maryland, College Park. As as the Evaluation and Outcomes part of his dissertation, Amilcar Director at the League of Women launched the National Latinx Voters, one of the nation’s oldest Alumni Engagement Survey, a civic organizations. In this role, first-of-its kind survey instrument he leads a department focused designed to examine how Latinx on measuring the programmatic college graduates engage civically. and policy outcomes for the The American Association of organization. Concurrently, he Hispanics in Higher Education serves as an adjunct professor at recognized his dissertation as one the American University School of its Outstanding Dissertations of of Education, where he teaches the Year in 2020. Amilcar also holds on critical issues in K-12 and a master’s degree in educational postsecondary education, and as leadership and policy from the the President of AG Consulting, University of Maryland and a LLC., a Washington, DC-based bachelor’s degree in psychology and consulting firm specializing sociology from Lycoming College. in alumni research. Amilcar His research and writing on K-12 received his PhD in educational and postsecondary education has leadership and policy (higher appeared in Inside Higher Ed, education) from the University Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy,

26 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Huffington Post, About Campus, Educational Researchers inducted and Latino Rebels. him as an AERA fellow in recognition for his contributions to research in postsecondary education. In 2018, the Fulbright Organization named him Fulbright Specialist. Dr. Cabrera has also been a member of the editorial Dr. Alberto F. Cabrera is a full board of the most prestigious professor in higher education journals of higher education at the University of Maryland, (Journal of Higher Education, College Park. His research Review of Higher Education, interests include the impact Research in Higher Education, of college on students, college and Journal of College Student choice, classroom experiences, Development) minorities in higher education, college outcomes, and the civic Abstract and prosocial implication of college Drawing on a national sample of respondents graduates. Dr. Cabrera’s research to the National Latinx/a/o Alumni Engagement Survey (NLAES), the authors examine whether and contributions to the field has civically engaged Latino college graduates have been acknowledged with several run for and served in elected office in recent awards, including two awards from years. Our results indicate that a small fraction the Council for Advancement of college-educated Latinos, just 6 percent of the respondents to our survey, have run for elected and Support of Education, the office at any levels, while less than 1 percent have American Association for the held office at any level.1 In order to increase the Study of Higher Education’s number of Latinos that seek elected office, bold and visionary policy reforms are necessary to promising early career and mentor reframe how elections are financed and who is of the year awards, and the eligible to run for public office. American Society for Engineering Education’s Wickenden award. In 2012, the Association of American

Volume 33 | 2021 27 A Growth in Population and population, nonprofit organizations Presence at the Polls and political groups have placed an The Latino population accounts increased emphasis on ensuring that for roughly 18 percent of the total more Latinos vote. Since 2000, several population in the United States. national, state, and local organizations Moreover, the Latinx population have launched campaigns to regis- is one of the fastest growing in the ter, contact, and mobilize Latinos United States. In 2019, the US Latino to vote in elections. Many of these population reached a record 60.6 initiatives have centered on outreach million, nearly double the size of the efforts through in-person contact and Latino population in 2000. Relatively through social media.6,7,8 One com- speaking, the US Latino population ponent of these efforts has focused on even surpasses the population of many recruiting Latinos to run for elected Latin American countries. It is half positions as Latino candidates can play the size of the total Mexican popu- a role in mobilizing Latino voters.9 lation, and six times as large as the These long-term efforts culminated one in Dominican Republic. Since in 2020 as more Latinos were driven 2010, the Latino population growth to vote. Estimates indicate that nearly in states such as North Carolina, 16.6 million Latinos voted in 2020, North Dakota, Montana, and New a 30 percent increase from the 2016 Hampshire represents some of the presidential election.10 What follows largest in the nation.2 The majority of is a discussion of one potential driver: this population growth is attributed to Latinos in elected office at the federal, the rise of younger Latinos, or Latinos state, and local levels. under the age of 35. The median age of Latinxs is just 30, with nearly six Latinos in Elected Office: A in ten Latinos being under the age Brief History of thirty-five.3,4 By 2050, researchers In the 1800s, the first Latinos were estimate the Latino population will be elected to the US Congress, repre- more than 100 million, representing senting Florida, New Mexico, and the second-largest demographic group California. These individuals played in the country.5 These demographic a key role in shaping the expanding trends provide a clear picture: the scope of the early United States.11 In Latino population is growing across 1928, the first Hispanic senator was the country, is younger, and is poised elected from the state of New Mexico. to comprise a larger percentage of the During the 1960s and 1970s, the pres- US population for decades to come. ence of Latinos in Congress increased. Mirroring the growth in the Latino In 1976, five Hispanic congressmen

28 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy formed the Congressional Hispanic 1. Within the past five years, Caucus in an effort to draw attention how many college-educated to pressing issues facing the US Lati- Latinos have run for elected no community.12,13 In recent years, office at the local, state, and Latino representation in Congress federal levels? has reached historic heights. During 2. Within the past five years, the 116th Congress, 36 Latinos served how many college-educated in the US House and four served in Latinos have held office at the the US Senate. local, state, and federal levels ? While the number of elected Lati- We draw on a national sample no officials has grown in recent years, of civically engaged Latino college Latinos are still underrepresented in graduates to answer these two ques- federal, state, and local office. A 2018 tions. The original sample is part of a analysis conducted by the National larger study seeking to answer several Association of Latino Elected and Ap- questions regarding how Latino col- pointed Officials (NALEO) revealed lege graduates engage civically.16 This there are only 6,749 Latino elected particular article, however, seeks to officials at the federal, state, and local answer one of these questions; namely, levels. This included 81 state senators; what proportion of college-educated 146 state representatives; 2,206 mu- Latinos have run or served in elected nicipal officials; and 2,496 education office at the local, state, and federal and school board members. Just 37 levels. Our sample is an ideal group to percent of all Latino elected office base our analysis and subsequent rec- holders at all levels were women.14 ommendations. Given the connection The total number of Latino elected between postsecondary education and officials equated to just 1 percent of civic engagement, college-educated all federal, state, and local elected Latinos have the potential to serve as officials across the country.15 These a new generation of civic leaders—a data provide a sobering picture of generation that is poised to serve in the recent status of Latino elected elected office at the federal, state, officials in the United States. and local levels.17,18

Purpose Survey Administration and The purpose of this article is to exam- Data Analysis ine the current state of college-edu- To understand the current state of cated Latinos in elected office in the college-educated Latinos in elected United States. To this end, we seek to office, we relied on a 2019 national answer the following two questions: survey of college educated Latinos.

Volume 33 | 2021 29 Table 1 Demographics N % % Missing

Latinx Regional Diversity Mexican 748 55 5 Caribbean 206 15 Central American 159 12 South American 181 13

Gender Male 425 31 5 Female 840 61 Trans Male/Trans Woman 2 .01 Genderqueer/Gender Nonconforming 5 .01 Different Identity 19 2

Region Northeast 36 3 1 Mid-Atlantic 519 38 Southeast 95 7 Mid-West 229 17 Southwest 232 17 Northwest 24 2 West 214 15

Highest Level of Education Bachelor’s Degree 600 44 3 Master’s Degree 513 38 Professional Degree 88 7 Doctoral Degree 123 9

Undergraduate Graduation Year 1960-1969 2 .001 .001 1970-1979 18 1 1980-1989 26 2 1990-1999 123 9 2000-2009 473 35 2010-2019 712 52 Table 1. Sample characteristics The National Latinx/a/o Alumni En- of-its-kind survey instrument in that gagement Survey (NLAES) appraises it is specifically designed to examine civic engagement in six dimensions: how college graduate Latinos engage 1) voting, 2) volunteering, 3) advo- civically. To date, no comprehensive cacy, 4) giving financially, 5) serving database exists that measures the as a cultural and political resource, civic engagement of college-educated and 6) running for and serving in Latinos. Therefore, the NLAES is the elected office. The NLAES is a first- only data source to answer the two

30 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy questions posed in this article. cent); men constitute a third of the To administer the NLAES, we part- sample (31 percent), while 2 percent nered with eight of the most promi- of the survey participants identified nent Latino professional organizations themselves as “Genderqueer/Gender in the country. Those organizations Nonconforming,” “Trans Man/Trans were: (a) Congressional Hispanic Woman,” or “Different Identity.” Near- Caucus Institute Alumni Association; ly 40 percent of the sample lives in the (b) Prospanica; (c) Society of Hispanic Mid-Atlantic region, in states such as Professional Engineers (SHPE); (d) Maryland and Virginia. Moreover, 34 Hispanic National Bar Association percent of the sample resides across (HNBA); (e) Congressional Hispanic the Midwest and Southwest. Lastly, Staff Association (CHSA); (f) Hispanic 17 percent resides in the Southwest, Alliance for Career Advancement primarily in the state of California. (HACE); (g) Association of Latino Overall, our sample of Latino college Professionals for America (ALPFA); graduates is more geographically di- and (h) the Hispanic Women’s Net- verse compared to the general popula- work of Texas.19,20,21,22, 23,24,25,26 tion of Latinos. Twenty-seven percent We used SPSS statistical software of Latinos reside in California and 19 (Version 26) to conduct the descriptive percent live in the Southwest region, analyses. The data represent 1,367 primarily in the state of Texas (see Ta- alumni from 378 four-year not-for- ble 1).28 The sample provides a wider profit institutions of higher education picture of college-educated Latinos (see Table 1). Respondents attended a in the United States. Twelve percent variety of institution types, including of the sample has Central American doctoral universities, master’s colleges origins and 13 percent has South and universities, and baccalaureate American origins. In comparison to colleges.27 The majority of Latinos our sample, 10 percent of the general in the sample are female (61 per- population of Latinos are from Central

Table 2

Latinx/a/o Regional Group N Sample % General Population of Latinx/a/os %a

1. Mexican 748 55 62 2. Caribbean 206 15 17 3. Central American 159 12 10 4. South American 181 13 6

Table 2. Sample diversity a US Census Bureau Current Population Survey, 2017.

Volume 33 | 2021 31 Table 3

Behaviors Number of Respondents Percent of Sample Running for and Running for and Serving Serving in Elected Office in Elected Office for and Total Respondents= 1,367 Serving in Elected Office

I have run for local elected office. 86 6% I hold/have held local elected office. 69 5% I have run for state elected office. 26 1% I hold/have held state elected office. 15 1% I have run for national elected office. 10 0% I hold/have held national elected office. 6 0%

Table 3. Sample running for and serving in elected office.

American countries and 6 percent are college-educated Latinos cannot be from South American countries. In extrapolated to non-college-educated our sample, more than 55 percent Latinos. Second, as an exploratory of the college-educated Latinos are study, our work only examines the of Mexican origin, while 15 percent frequency of civic engagement. Future are from Caribbean countries. In research should provide insight into comparison to the general population, examining the why behind Latino 62 percent of Latinos are from Mexico college graduates’ civic participa- (see Table 2). tion. Specifically, particular attention should be paid to examine what mo- Limitations tivates this group to engage civically. There are two principal limitations associated with this research. First, Results the results of this study are bound A small percentage of our sample of by the characteristics of the sample. Latinos college graduates have run for Specifically, respondents were all col- or served in elected office. Only 6 per- lege graduates, predominantly female, cent of survey respondents have run primarily residing in the Mid-At- for local elected office and 5 percent lantic region of the United States, have held local elected office, defined and mainly graduated from public as school board or city council. Just universities within the past 20 years. 2 percent of respondents have run Additionally, the results of this work for state elected office, and merely 1 can only be viewed through the lens percent have held state elected office, of Latino college graduates. Thus, the defined as state representative or state findings of civic engagement among senator. Lastly, less than 1 percent

32 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy of the respondents have run or held Hatch Act (Public Law 103-94) as federal elected office, defined as a an impediment to their ability to member of Congress (see Table 3). engage in political campaigns or to A number of respondents high- run for office.30 lighted three key barriers to their ability to run for and serve in elected Recommendations office.29 First, several respondents The results of our analysis provide indicated a lack of financial support a roadmap for reforms at the local, and structural support. In the words state, and federal levels. The reforms of one respondent: “I don’t have the we present address four key barriers money to launch a viable campaign. identified by our survey respondents: We as Latinos do not have the net- 1) financing, 2) maintaining Latino works to help raise the big money cultural identity, 3) meeting require- needed to be competitive.” Second, ments for public office, and 4) the respondents singled out legal status Hatch Act. These recommendations as a barrier to their ability to run can be implemented by policy mak- for elected office; “I would like to ers while being a point of political run for office, but I can’t because rallying for organizations devoted to of my immigration status.” Third, increasing Latino representation in respondents indicated the need to elected office. balance their cultural identities with the responsibility of running for and Public Financing serving in elected office. One respon- In recent years, policymakers have dent stressed personal sacrifices as a taken steps to reshape political contri- deterrent: “I think I would have to butions to candidates.31 Public financ- sacrifice too much of myself in order ing programs provide candidates with to run for office. I don’t want to have public funds for campaign expenses. to become less Latino in order to be To receive the public funds, candi- an elected official.” One respondent dates must adhere to conditions such also noted, “I don’t want to have to as only accepting small-dollar private jump back and forth between being contributions, limiting campaign Latino and White.” The burden of expenditures, and participating in compromising one’s identity appears public debates. At the core of public to provide initial insight into why col- financing programs are two princi- lege-educated Latinos might shy away ples: amplifying the voices of citizens from running for elected office. Lastly, through the increased importance of several Latino college graduates who small-dollar contributions and reduc- were federal employees noted the ing the influence of corporations and

Volume 33 | 2021 33 Table 4

Program Name Description Areas of Focus

Emerge America The Emerge training program is a Public Speaking Candidate Training unique opportunity for Democratic Fundraising (Women) women who want to run for public Field Operations office. It is the only in-depth, six- Technology month, 70-hour training program that inspires candidates to run and gives them the tools to win.

Emily’s List Run Run to Win is a national recruitment Public Speaking To Win (Women) and training campaign focused Fundraising on helping pro-choice Democratic Field Operations women around the country run for Technology office—and win.

New American Leaders New American Leaders is a unique Fundraising (New Americans) two-track advanced campaign training for New Americans who want to run for office.

Running Start 3 programs designed to help women Experience in (Women) in high school and college learn about Congressional offices running for office

She Should Run We motivate women from all walks of Virtual trainings and an (Women) life to explore the possibility of public online community office by identifying and tackling the barriers to elected leadership.

VoteRunLead The mission of VoteRunLead is to train Public Speaking barrier-breaking women to unleash Fundraising their political power and run for office. Field Operations Technology

LGBTQ Victory Fund Campaign and candidate training Elections (LGBTQ) programs Governance Movement Building Wellstone We uncover the existing leadership Movement Technology (Women) that exists in our communities, with an emphasis on women of color.

Table 4. Candidate programs for diverse populations. special interests. The two most com- a government jurisdiction matches a mon types of public financing models candidate’s small-dollar contributions, are matching funds and vouchers.32 typically at a 1:1, 5:1, or even 8:1 Through the matching funds model, ratio. Through the voucher model,

34 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy a government jurisdiction distributes the People Act of 2021 (H.R. 1 in the a small amount of funds to every House of Representatives and S.1.in eligible resident to be donated to the US Senate) transforms federal political candidates.33 A recent analysis campaign finance laws.41,42 A signature conducted by the National Confer- provision of the legislation is the im- ence of State Legislatures indicates plementation of a small-dollar donor that just 14 states provide some sort matching program that would amplify of public financing for state-level small contributions to participating political campaigns.34,35 federal candidates. Specifically, the In 2018, Washington, DC, program would match small dona- launched its public financing pro- tions of up to $200 to participating gram: Fair Elections. The initiative congressional candidates at a 6:1 ratio. incentivizes more candidates to com- Participating candidates would be sub- pete in elections. It amplifies the ject to lower contribution limits and voices of residents through matching strict anti-fraud provisions.43 Critics small-dollar donations at a 5:1 ratio. of H.R. 1 contend that the legislation Candidates can use the public funds is costly and encroaches on states’ for financing campaign operations in rights to manage their electoral pro- the District of Columbia.36 During cesses.44,45. However, recent estimates the 2020 City Council elections, from Congressional Budget Office three Latino candidates participated indicate that the legislation would in the Fair Elections program.37 All of amount to less than 1 percent of the the candidates ran for citywide office overall federal budget over the next for the first time.38 While none of the 10 years.46 The successful passage Latino candidates won a seat on City of the For the People Act in the US Council, the Fair Elections program House of Representatives and in the can serve as a blueprint for Latino US Senate has the potential to reshape candidates in Washington, DC, who the political landscape for federal are interested in running for political elections in 2022, 2024, and beyond. office.39 As research indicates, public financing helps foster diversity in the Training Programs electoral process. By removing barriers Since 2000, the number of programs to fundraising, more members of focused on training diverse leaders to traditionally underrepresented groups run for political office have grown (See can run for office at all levels.40 Table 4).47 Some of the largest and Federal policymakers have also most well-known programs include taken steps to reshape political fund- Emerge America Candidate Training, raising in national elections. The For Emily’s List Run to Win Trainings, the

Volume 33 | 2021 35 LGBTQ Victory Fund’s Campaign, on raising funds as many potential and Candidate Training Programs. Latino candidates cite fundraising as The majority of these programs fo- a barrier to running for office.50,51 The cus on areas critical to a successful second pillar is centering the Latino political campaign: public speaking, experience in all facets of training. fundraising, field operations, and The results of our survey indicate technology (See Table 4). Many of that many respondents shy away from these leadership development pro- running for office due to the perceived grams describe the power of their difficulties of balancing their Latino alumni network in shaping candidates’ identity with garnering support from successful election and service while the non-Latino public. This balancing in office.48 One study indicates that act can be exhausting and lead Latino participation in leadership develop- candidates to choose to give up their ment and candidate training programs authentic selves in order to operate yield favorable results for diverse in a distinct political world. This populations.49 For example, being notion of navigating two worlds is not accepted into a training program, and germane to the experience of potential subsequently completing it, increases candidates but can be heighted as the likelihood of women of color to one seeks elected office in the public run for office. While these results are eye.52 In 2021, local elected officials encouraging, there is a need to devel- in California and Maryland have op programs that specifically focus on faced this challenge head on as they recruiting, training, and supporting have endured criticism about their Latino candidates for elected office. native accent.53,54 Candidate training National, state, and local nonprofit programs should help candidates organizations can launch programs embrace their Latino background focused on recruiting, training, and and leverage it as an asset once in supporting the success of Latino elected office. candidates for political office. All programs should include two pillars State Policy Reforms to that are central to the success of Latino Requirements candidates. The first pillar is a sharp States should reform their require- focus on the skills necessary to run ments to allow undocumented a successful campaign and serve in immigrants to seek political office. political office. These skills include The results of our survey reveal that developing a campaign plan, fund- numerous respondents are interested raising, public speaking, and coalition in running for political office but find building. A particular focus should be their immigration status to be the main

36 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy barrier. In recent years, state and local from engaging in political activities, entities have enacted reforms seeking including contributions to individuals to allow undocumented individuals and organizations.59 However, many to run for and hold public office aspects of the Hatch Act remain un- at various levels. For example, in clear, including the parameters of 2018, state legislators in California public support, volunteering, and introduced legislation allowing un- fundraising for political candidates.60,61 documented immigrants and other For college-educated Latinos em- non-citizens to hold positions in the ployed by the federal government, Democratic Party at the county and the Hatch Act could serve as a barrier committee levels.55 In 2019, Governor to seeking elected office. As a result, Gavin Newsom signed legislation political candidates might have to that permits undocumented immi- make the difficult choice of leaving grants and other non-citizens to serve their full-time employment to run on state boards and commissions in for political office. More clarity and California.56 Equal representation guidance is needed on the Hatch Act stands as a core democratic value in order to facilitate college-educated of California, and these legislative Latinos who may work for the federal initiatives enable more California government to run for elected office. residents to have the opportunity to be equally represented within the state.57 Conclusion States across the country should look This article assesses the current land- to California as a model for reforming scape of college-educated Latinos in candidate requirements for elected elected office. Despite recent cam- office. “Reforms at the local and state paigns to incentivize Latino partici- level are vital to ensuring the ability pation in elections, there is a dearth of undocumented and non-citizens of college-educated Latinos serving to serve in political office. As many in political office at the federal, state, appointed local and state positions can and local levels. Less than 5 percent serve as stepping stones for candidates of our sample of civically engaged to continue to higher elected political Latino college graduates has even positions.”58 considered running for political office. These data provide a bleak outlook The Hatch Act for the future of the kind of political Existing federal law can also be a leadership Latino college graduates deterrent for college-educated Latinos may exert in the United States. As to run for office. The Hatch Act is a the Latino population continues to law that prohibits federal employees increase, we need a new generation

Volume 33 | 2021 37 of college-educated Latinos to run tion, 2018). and serve in elected office. Policymak- 6 “About,” Voto Latino, accessed 5 February 2021, https://votolatino.org/about/. ers at all levels, as well as nonprofit 7 “About Us,” Latino Community Foundation, organizations, have a role to play in accessed 5 February 2021, https://latinocf.org/ removing the barriers that currently about-us/. exist for college-educated Latinos to 8 Nicole Acevedo, “Young Latinos mobilized, seek elected office. By doing so, more voted and were pivotal in 2020. Organizers Latinos can shape critical policies want to keep it going,” NBCNews, 27 Novem- ber 2020, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/ across all facets of American soci- latino/young-latinos-mobilized-voted-were-piv- ety—policies that will in turn shape otal-2020-organizers-want-keep-n1246853. the long-term success of all Latinos 9 Matt Barretto, “The Role of Latino Candidates in the United States. in Mobilizing Latino Voters,” in Latino Politics, Identity and Representation, ed. Rodolfo Endnotes Espino, David L. Leal, and Kenneth J. Meier (University of Virginia Press, 2007). 1 The terms Latinx, Latino, Latina, and Hispanic 10 “Vote Choice of Latino Voters in the 2020 are used interchangeably in this article. Presidential Election,” UCLA Latino Policy & 2 Luis Noe-Bustamante, Mark Hugo Lopez, and Politics Initiative, 18 January 2021, accessed 5 Jens Manuel Krogstad, “U.S. Latino population February 2021, https://latino.ucla.edu/research/ surpassed 60 million in 2019, but growth has latino-voters-in-2020-election. slowed,” Pew Research Center FACTTANK, 11 Jose Serrano, “Hispanic Americans in 7 July 2020, accessed 5 February 2021, https:// Congress 1822-1995,” Library of Congress, 10 www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/07/u- September 2014, accessed 5 February 2021, s-hispanic-population-surpassed-60-million-in- https://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/congress/in- 2019-but-growth-has-slowed/. troduction.html#:~:text=Those%20three%20 3 Eileen Patten, “The Nation’s Latino Population states%20%2D%2D%20Florida,Hispanic%20 is Defined by Its Youth,” Pew Research Center to%20serve%20in%20Congress. Hispanic Trends, 20 April 2016, accessed 5 12 Jose Serrano. “Hispanic Americans in Congress February 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/ 1822-1995.” hispanic/2016/04/20/the-nations-latino-popula- 13 “About,” Congressional Hispanic Caucus, tion-is-defined-by-its-youth/. accessed 5 February 2021, https://chc.house. 4 Mark Hugo Lopez, Jens Manuel Krogstad, gov/about. and Antonio Flores, “Key facts about young 14 “National Directory of Latino Elected Offi- Latinos, one of the nation’s fastest-grow- cials,” NALEO Educational Fund, accessed 6 ing populations,” Pew Research Center February 2021, https://naleo.org/wp-content/ FACTTANK, 13 September 2018, accessed 5 uploads/2019/10/2018_National_Directo- February 2021, https://www.pewresearch.org/ ry_of_Latino_Elected_Officials-1.pdf. hispanic/2016/04/20/the-nations-latino-popula- 15 Dianna M. Nanez, “Latinos make up only tion-is-defined-by-its-youth/. 1% of all local and federal elected officials, 5 William H. Frey, Diversity Explosion: How and that’s a big problem,” USA Today, 6 New Racial Demographics are Remaking January 2020, accessed 6 February 2021, America (Washington, DC: Brookings Institu- https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/

38 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy nation/2020/01/06/aoc-julian-castro-un- who work in the US Senate and the US House derrepresented-hispanics-aim-change-po- of Representatives. litics/4253316002/. 24 The Hispanic Alliance for Career Advance- 16 Amilcar Guzman, “Uncovering Typologies of ment is comprised of over 64,000 Latino pro- Civically Engaged Latinx/a/o College Grad- fessionals from across the country. Since 1982, uates” (dissertation, University of Maryland, the organization has worked to support Latinos 2020), accessed 19 March 2021, https://drum. in every phase of their careers by ensuring their lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/26481. employment and career advancement. 17 William R. Doyle and Benjamin T. Skinner, 25 The Association of Latino Professionals for “Does postsecondary education result in civic America is comprised of more than 14,000 benefits,” Journal of Higher Education 88, Latino college graduates throughout the 6(2017): 863–893. country in cities such as Boston, Philadelphia, 18 Jennifer Ma, Matea Pender, and Meredith San Diego, and San Francisco. Welch, “Education Pays 2019: The Benefits 26 The Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas of Higher Education for Individuals and represents more than 3,000 Latina college Society,” College Board Trends in Higher graduates from some of the largest cities in Education Series, 2019, accessed 21 March Texas, including Houston, Dallas, and San 2021, https://research.collegeboard.org/pdf/ Antonio. Since 1986, the organization has pro- education-pays-2019-full-report.pdf. vided Latina college graduates the opportunity 19 The CHCI Alumni Association represents to mentor Latina undergraduate students, and nearly 4,000 Latinx/a/o professionals across it trains Latina college graduates on how to run the country. Since 1998, the organization has for local and statewide elected office. focused on providing high-quality civic engage- 27 “Listings,” The Carnegie Classification of ment and leadership experiences to Latinos in Institutions of Higher Education, accessed 22 some of the most populous Latinx cities in the November 2019, http://carnegieclassifications. country. iu.edu/listings.php. 20 Prospanica represents more than 4,000 Latinx 28 Renee Stepler and Mark Hugo Lopez, “U.S. professionals. Since 1988, this organization has Latino Population Growth and Dispersion empowered Hispanic business professionals to Has Slowed Since the Onset of the Great achieve their full educational, economic, and Recession,” Pew Research Center Hispanic social potential. Trends, 8 September 2016, accessed 31 21 SHPE represents over 10,000 Latinx college October 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/ graduates who work as engineers or participate hispanic/2016/09/08/latino-population-growth- in other science, technology, education, and anddispersion-has-slowed-since-the-onset-of- math (STEM) careers. the-great-recession. 22 The Hispanic National Bar Association 29 Respondents shared key barriers through the is comprised of more than 5,000 Latina/o open-ended general “comments” section in the lawyers from across the country Since 1977, survey. the organization has focused on advancing 30 Pub. L. 103–94, §2(a), Oct. 6, 1993, 107 Stat. and developing Latinos in the legal profession 1001, reenacted subchapter heading without and providing professional development change, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ opportunities for Hispanic lawyers. USCODE-2011-title5/html/USCODE-2011- 23 The Congressional Hispanic Staff Association title5-partIII-subpartF-chap73-subchapIII.htm. is comprised of the more than 400 Hispanics 31 “Public Financing of Campaigns: Overview,”

Volume 33 | 2021 39 National Conference of State Legislatures, campaign-finance-2020-election/2020/12/15/ 8 February 2019, accessed 6 February 5c7e015e-3d91-11eb-8bc0-ae155bee4aff_story. 2021, https://www.ncsl.org/research/elec- html. tions-and-campaigns/public-financing-of-cam- 40 Mimi Murray Digby Marziani and Adam paigns-overview.aspx. Skaggs, “More Than Corruption: The Other 32 “Public Campaign Financing,” Brennan Benefits of Public Financing,” Brennan Center Center for Justice, accessed 6 Febru- for Justice, 7 October 2011, accessed 18 March ary 2021, https://www.brennancenter. 2021, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ org/issues/reform-money-politics/ research-reports/more-combating-corrup- public-campaign-financing. tion-other-benefits-public-financing. 33 “Public Financing of Elections,” Campaign 41 “Annotated Guide to the For the People Legal Center, accessed 6 February 2021, Act of 2021,” Brennan Center for Justice, https://campaignlegal.org/democracyu/ accessed 7 February 2021, https://www. inclusion/public-financing-elections. brennancenter.org/our-work/policy-solutions/ 34 Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, annotated-guide-people-act-2021. Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, 42 “Pelosi, Lofgren, Sarbanes Joint Statement on Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Re-Introduction of H.R. 1, the For the People Island, Vermont, and West Virginia. Act of 2021,” press release from Congressman 35 “Public Financing of Campaigns: Overview.” John Sarbanes, 4 January 2021, https://sarbanes. 36 “Overview of the Fair Elections Program,” house.gov/media-center/press-releases/pelosi- Washington, DC Office of Campaign lofgren-sarbanes-joint-statement-re-introduc- Finance, Board of Elections, 2018 [PowerPoint tion-hr-1-people-act. Presentation], accessed 6 February 2021, 43 Gareth Fowler and Daniel I. Weiner, “Under- https://ocf.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ standing H.R.1’s Public Financing Provisions,” ocf/page_content/attachments/Fair%20 Brennan Center for Justice, 20 September Elections%20Amendment%20Act%20of%20 2019, accessed 7 February 2021, https://www. 2018%20Overview%20of%20the%20DC%20 brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/ Law%2022_94%20%282%29.pdf. Understanding%20HR1%20Public%20Financ- 37 Andrew Giambrone, “D.C.’s New Public ing.pdf. Financing Program is All the Rage in 2020,” 44 John York, “The ‘For The People Act’ Demon- DCist, 6 February 2020, accessed 7 February strates the Flaws of Progressive Campaign 2021, https://dcist.com/story/20/02/06/d-c-s- Finance Reform,” The Heritage Foundation, new-public-financing-program-is-all-the-rage- 4 December 2020, accessed 7 February 2021, in-2020/. https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/report/ 38 James Wright, “Latinos in D.C. Seek More the-the-people-act-demonstrates-the-flaws- Political Power,” Washington Informer, 9 progressive-campaign-finance-reform. September 2020, accessed 7 February 2021, 45 “The Facts About H.R. 1—the For the People https://www.washingtoninformer.com/ Act of 2019,” The Heritage Foundation, 1 Feb- latinos-in-d-c-seek-more-political-power/. ruary 2019, accessed 7 February 2021, https:// 39 Julie Zauzmer and Michael Brice-Saddler, “In www.heritage.org/election-integrity/report/ first D.C. election with public financing, can- the-facts-about-hr-1-the-the-people-act-2019. didates and donors bumped up against rules,” 46 Congressional Budget Office, H.R. 1, For the Washington Post, 15 December 2020, https:// People Act of 2019, as reported by the House www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dc- Committee on Rules on March 5, 2019:

40 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Estimated Effects on Direct Spending and A%20community%20is%20outraged%20 Revenues, 7 March 2019, https://www.cbo.gov/ after,comments%20are%20civil%20and%20 publication/55021. respectful. 47 Typically defined as racial minorities, young 55 Alexei Koseff, “California Opens State Boards people, women and LGBTQIA individuals. to Undocumented Immigrants and Other 48 “Alumnae,” Emerge America, accessed 11 Non-Citizens,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 2021, https://emergeamerica.org/ 12 October 2019, accessed 11 February 2021, alumnae/. https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/ 49 Jamil S. Scott, “Ambition is not enough: California-opens-state-boards-to-undocu- Explaining candidate emergence in state mented-14517946.php. level politics” (dissertation, Michigan State 56 Kathy Grimes, “Sen. Wiener Announces Bill University, 2018), accessed 11 February 2021, to Allow Illegal Immigrants Run for Official https://search.proquest.com/openview/c36e- Democratic Party Seats,” California Globe, baf6d9c05c41345def000ae03504/1?pq-orig- 29 June 2019, accessed 11 February 2021, site=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y. https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/sen-wie- 50 Juhem Navarro-Rivera, “Ideologia: ner-announces-bill-to-allow-illegal-immi- Barriers to Latino Representation,” grants-run-for-official-democratic-party-seats/. Demos, 18 August 2016, accessed 11 Feb- 57 California State Senate SB-225 Citizens of the ruary 2021, https://www.demos.org/blog/ state (2019-2020). ideologia-barriers-latino-representation. 58 “States of Inclusion” New American Journeys 51 Angela X. Ocampo and John Ray, “Up- to Elected Office,” New American Leaders coming elections present opportunities Project, 2016, accessed 11 February 2021, for Latino candidates—and the party that https://www.newamericanleaders.org/wp-con- backs them,” Vox, 19 March 2018, accessed tent/uploads/2017/05/States-of-Inclusion-FI- 11 February 2021, https://www.vox.com/ NAL-12516.pdf. mischiefs-of-faction/2018/3/19/17136930/ 59 “The Hatch Act Overview,” US Office of the barriers-opportunities-latinos. Special Counsel, accessed 18 March 2021, 52 Gloria Anzaldua, Borderlands/La Frontera: https://osc.gov/Services/Pages/HatchAct.aspx. The New Mestiza (San Francisco: Aunt Lute 60 Jaime Fuller, “Do you work in the federal Books, 1987). government? You might have violated the 53 Kaanita Iyer, “Latina councilmember mocked Hatch Act,” for accent while discussing racial disparities Washington Post, 17 July 2014, accessed 16 in Maryland,” USA Today, 7 March 2021, March 2020, https://www.washingtonpost. accessed 18 March 2021, https://www.usatoday. com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/07/17/do-you-work- com/story/news/nation/2021/03/05/mary- in-government-have-you-violated-the-hatch- land-lawmaker-nancy-navarro-mocked-ac- act-lets-investigate/. cent-virtual-meeting/4595819001/. 61 Joe Davidson, “Hatch Act’s do’s and don’ts 54 Abbie Alford, “Vista Parent Accused of for federal employees,” The Washington Mocking Hispanic Board Member,” KAGS, 5 Post, 30 October 2014, accessed 29 February March 2021, accessed 21 March 2021, https:// 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ www.kagstv.com/article/news/local/vista- federal-eye/wp/2014/10/30/hatch-act-dos-and- parent-accused-of-mocking-hispanic-school- donts-for-federal-employees/. board-member/509-0b259eb2-ab6f-4178- a043-d02e6a317851#:~:text=%E2%80%94%20

Volume 33 | 2021 41 Opinion Making the Invisible Visible: Health, Data, and Race-Conscious Latinidad

Tomás Díaz, MD, and Mark Díaz, PhD

Tomás Díaz is a clinical fellow in performance. His work explores the Department of Emergency approaches to involving members at the University of California of historically marginalized groups San Francisco. His scholarship in the development and evaluation and community work emphasize of algorithmic systems. humility, equity, and justice in medical education. “What is your race and ethnicity?” “I’m Black Latino.” “Well, I don’t have that on my form. Are you Black or Hispanic?” “I’m both.” “You can only pick one.” Mark’s experience at a Palo Alto medical office is all too familiar for many of us who identify as Black Mark Díaz is a research scientist Latinx and exemplifies the illegibility on the Ethical AI team at Google. of Black Latinidad to prevailing modes His research probes the origins of of data collection in the United States. In the United States, the project values and social biases in datasets of anti-Blackness has manifested and their influence on algorithm

42 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy as exclusion, segregation, and an- Latino paradox” is an epidemiologi- ti-miscegenation. In Latin America, cal phenomenon that has identified anti-Blackness has manifested as mes- that Latinx in aggregate have lower tizaje—that is, race mixing as a means mortality rates than non-Latinx whites of Black and Indigenous erasure. This regardless of socioeconomic status history contributes to the mythology or access to care. But, this finding in many Latin American countries is misleading.3 Black Latinx report of a post-racial society, a colorblind higher rates of hypertension and are community where todos somos mes- more likely to self-rate their health tizos. Of course, Latinx do see color as fair or poor than white Latinx. as evidenced by commonly used skin Darker-skinned Latinx are more likely tone classifications such as prieto or to report discrimination, which has mulato and phrases such as mejorar consistently been associated with la raza. Phenotypes associated with greater stress, anxiety/depression, and beauty, wealth, and power among health behaviors linked to chronic Latinx in both Latin America and diseases, such as smoking and physical the United States indicate that the inactivity.4,5 Among Latinx, health racial hierarchies introduced with outcomes are heterogeneous, with European colonization and the casta racism contributing to worse health system persist. The problem with the outcomes among Black Latinx. idea of blended racial colorblindness Attempts to study Black Latinx is that it silences racial discourse and communities are complicated by essentializes the color of Latinidad the racial paradigms and data col- into a vague beige, which then main- lection methods used to document tains and upholds the racial status them. Black Latinx representation in quo. Racial privilege and oppression health datasets is mediated by both go unnoticed but are nonetheless inconsistent documentation and racial reproduced.1 categories, which have been unstable In the United States, Black Latinx historically.6 The instability of racial experience higher rates of unem- categories renders incompatible data- ployment, lower median household sets that record race using differing incomes, and higher rates of poverty paradigms. For example, “Hispanic’’ than white Latinx.2 Similarly, Black and “Latino’’ were absent from the Latinx reside in neighborhoods with US Census until 1980 and 2000, higher proportions of residents living respectively, while the ability to select in poverty than white Latinx, which more than one race emerged only in is associated with decreased access to 2000.7,8 Adults who today identify as nutrient-rich foods and clean air. “The “Black” and “Latino’’ could not have

Volume 33 | 2021 43 identified as such before 2000, making colorism, and anti-Blackness, as well comparisons over time difficult or as self-determination and resistance to impossible. US-imposed categorization, may all Even when a racial paradigm be at play. The legacies of European remains consistent, the race of an colonization and US imperialism individual across records may not. An impact conceptualizations of identity individual’s race across official records among Latinx in ways incompletely can vary depending on whether it was understood. Nevertheless, Latinx who recorded based on self-report, pheno- identify as White report higher levels typic observation by a government of education, higher income, and worker (such as a police officer), or greater civic enfranchisement than copied from an existing record.9 This those who select “some other race.” In inconsistency distorts Black Latinidad this regard, for Latinx, whiteness may even when it is, in theory, visible. represent perceived belonging, inclu- Inconsistencies are a concern for any sion, and safety, a direct influence data analysis; however, inconsistencies of the casta system and its imposed that describe historically marginalized racial hierarchy.11 groups stand to undermine public Robust policy requires robust un- health efforts targeting structurally derstanding of Latinidad. A race-con- oppressed populations and compound scious Latinidad begins with disaggre- historical inequities. gated data collection to combat the In the 2010 US Census, 37 percent erasure of Black Latinidad. However, of the Latinx population selected the results of disaggregation, and “some other race,” which suggests thus their ability to challenge es- that, in standard US Census race cat- sentialized Latinidad, hinge on the egories, many Latinx do not see their racial measurements chosen in data racial identity represented.10 Among collection and reporting.12 Thoughtful US self-identified “Afro-Latinx,” only data collection must build not only 18 percent report their race as Black from scholars of Latinidad but also while 39 percent report their race as from Black Latinx themselves, who White. This may seem curious, but can directly provide their racialized it is indicative of the complexity of identities and experiences. Dissecting racial identity among Afro-Latinx and how Black Latinx identify across social makes it unlikely that simply adding contexts can shed light on the lim- “Afro-Latino or afrodescendiente” itations of existing paradigms. These to the Black race category will be failures, in turn, inform the levels of sufficient to appropriately capture disaggregation needed to give Black useful data. Issues of colonialism, Latinx visibility and appropriately

44 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy direct policy interventions. Counting Hispanics,” Pew Research Beyond the validation of Black ra- Center: Social & Demographic Trends, 3 March 2010, https://www.pewre- cial identity and pride, acknowledging search.org/social-trends/2010/03/03/ racial difference among Latinx has census-history-counting-hispanics-2/. important policy implications. The 8 Kim Parker et al., “Multiracial in America: boxes checked during Mark’s initial Chapter 1: Multiracial Americans in the U.S. exchange in Palo Alto are consequen- Census,” Pew Research Center: Social & tial. If we are to appropriately describe Demographic Trends, 11 June 2015, https:// www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/ racial inequities among Latinx and chapter-1-race-and-multiracial-americans-in- identify effective policy interven- the-u-s-census/. tions, we will need a race-conscious 9 Alex Hanna et al., “Towards a critical race Latinidad. methodology in algorithmic fairness,” FAT* ‘20: Proceedings of the 2020 Conference on Endnotes Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (2001): 501–512. 1 Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, White Supremacy and 10 Gustavo Lopez and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, Racism in the Post-Civil Rights Era (Boulder, “Afro-Latino: A deeply rooted identity among CO: Reinner, 2001). U.S. Hispanics,” Pew Research Center: 2 Adolfo G. Cuevas, Beverly Araujo Dawson, FACTANK, 1 March 2016, https://www.pewre- and David R. Williams, “Race and Skin Color search.org/fact-tank/2016/03/01/afro-latino-a- in Latino Health: An Analytic Review,” Amer- deeply-rooted-identity-among-u-s-hispanics/. ican Journal of Public Health 106, 12(2016): 11 Kim Parker et al., “Multiracial in America: 2131–2136. Chapter 7: The Many Dimensions of Hispanic 3 Luisa N. Borrell, “Racial Identity Among Racial Identity,” Pew Research Center: Social Hispanics: Implications for Health and & Demographic Trends, 11 June 2015, https:// Well-Being,” American Journal of Public Health www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2015/06/11/ 95, 3(2005): 379–381. chapter-7-the-many-dimensions-of-hispan- 4 Krista M. Perreira and Edward E. Telles, “The ic-racial-identity/. Color of Health: Skin Color, Ethnoracial Clas- 12 Hanna et al., “Critical race methodology.” sification, and Discrimination in the Health of Latin Americans,” Social Science & Medicine 116 (2014): 241–250. 5 Elizabeth A. Pascoe and Laura Smart Rich- man, “Perceived Discrimination and Health: a Meta-analytic Review,” Psychological Bulletin 135, 4(2009): 531–554. 6 Mara Loveman and Jeronimo O. Muniz, “How Puerto Rico Became White: Boundary Dynamics and Intercensus Racial Reclassi- fication,” American Sociological Review 72, 6(2007): 915–939. 7 D’Vera Cohn, “Census Historoy:

Volume 33 | 2021 45 Commentary The Great American Pandemic Recovery: Tackling Systems of Inequality that Impede Full Latino Inclusion in the COVID-19 Response

Carlos Guevara, UnidosUS Associate Director for Immigration Policy Initiatives, and Emily Ruskin, UnidosUS Senior Policy Analyst

Carlos Guevara is the associate immigration policy issues under director for the UnidosUS the Obama administration, and Immigration Initiatives Project. an immigration law practitioner Carlos’s work focuses on advancing representing predominantly low- effective and humane federal income immigrants. Carlos earned immigration policies that promote his law degree from the University and uphold family unity, protect of Maryland Francis King Carey workers’ rights, build on immigrant School of Law and his bachelor’s integration efforts, and improve degree from University of Virginia. the current immigration system. Carlos is the author of several publications including, most recently, “The Latino Community in the Time of Coronavirus: The Case for a Broad and Inclusive Government Response.” Prior Emily Ruskin is the senior policy to joining UnidosUS, Carlos was analyst for the Immigration Policy a counselor in the Office of the Project at UnidosUS (formerly Secretary at the US Department National Council of La Raza), of Homeland Security from where she leads a research agenda 2014-2017, where he worked on in support of UnidosUS’ federal

46 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy immigration advocacy. Prior to on the road to recovery. joining UnidosUS, Emily served When COVID-19 struck the Unit- as a policy advisor in the New York ed States in early 2020, the American unemployment rate was the lowest City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant it had been since the World War II Affairs, coordinating global cities’ era, and most workers had access to advocacy around the UN Global paid sick leave, employer-sponsored 2 Compacts on Migration and health insurance, and paid vacation. As COVID-19 closed down the econ- Refugees. She is a Returned Peace omy, the past contributions most Corps Volunteer and holds a workers had paid into unemploy- master’s degree from Princeton’s ment insurance (UI) helped them School of Policy and International defray lost wages, and the social safety Affairs. net—albeit imperfect—helped their families weather the pandemic. Yet The United States is at a crossroads. even before COVID-19, there were The direction our leaders take this year indications that the economic foun- by enacting—or failing to enact—a dation supporting large segments of combination of policy interventions Black and Latino communities was to stem the health and economic pain fractured. wrought by the novel coronavirus Nearly a century of culminating (COVID-19) will have a long-term policy choices has reinforced sys- impact on the lives of millions of temic racial and ethnic inequality Americans. The policy and, frankly, in America’s social safety net. The political choices that Congress makes Depression-era Social Security sys- will determine whether we find our- tem and the Fair Labor Standards selves on a path that further strains Act offered retirement security and our social fabric or one that leads to basic worker protections—like the a stronger nation. For Latinos, the minimum wage—to predominant- stakes are particularly high, as deep ly white office, industrial, and craft racial disparities and historic income workers but excluded farm laborers, and wealth inequalities predating the domestic workers, and other jobs pandemic have been exposed and largely held by Blacks and Latinos.3 magnified by the current health and When the Interstate Highway System, economic crises.1 Without a compre- government-subsidized mortgages, hensive and visionary policy response and mortgage interest deduction fu- that addresses these systemic inequi- eled a massive increase in suburban ties, we stand to lose further ground homeownership after World War II,

Volume 33 | 2021 47 formal and informal housing dis- COVID-19 and the Latino crimination relegated most Latino Community and Black families to poor-quality COVID-19 was declared a global housing in segregated neighborhoods pandemic on March 11, 2020, and with few economic opportunities and a national emergency by the United under-resourced schools.4 The Great States on March 13, 2020.7 One year Society era of the 1960s led to the later, more than 29 million confirmed creation of critical support programs, cases and 528,000 deaths were at- including housing assistance, job tributed to the disease in the United training, Medicaid, and the Food States.8 The nation’s largest Latino Stamp program (SNAP’s predecessor), civil rights organization, UnidosUS, but so-called “alien exclusions” soon was early in bringing attention to followed, which bar most immigrants the disparate impact on Latino com- and their lawfully present spouses munities through original analysis, and children—predominantly His- engagement with lawmakers, and panic—from vital economic, health, more than 20 virtual community and nutritional supports.5 events that placed the disparate effects The pandemic has exposed the of the pandemic within the context of unequal social and economic founda- broader structural inequities.9 tions on which communities of color To be clear, the hundreds of must build their lives, in part due to thousands of COVID-related deaths decades of explicitly discriminatory are tragic, regardless of race or eth- policy decisions. Hispanics and other nicity. Nonetheless, throughout the communities of color are more sus- pandemic, data from the Centers ceptible to contracting COVID-19 for Disease Control and Prevention as they comprise the largest share of (CDC) has consistently shown that essential workers but are most likely Latinos are contracting and dying to experience economic hardship from COVID-19 at higher rates than due to the virus and have a far-less the general population. As of March comprehensive safety net to fall back 4, Latinos make up 18.5 percent of on when they do.6 For our nation to the US population but compose 21 survive and emerge stronger from this percent of COVID-19 cases, while crisis, a successful policy response non-Hispanic Whites represent 55 must alleviate the inequities which percent of the US population and underpin the systems, institutions, comprise 56 percent of deaths.10 and practices that we rely on during Close examination of the pub- natural disasters and times of eco- lic health impact of the pandemic nomic hardship. across age groups reveals significant

48 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Figure 1: UnidosUS interpretation of Centers Health Disparities: Race and Hispanic Origin, https:// for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/health_dis- parities.htm disparities between Hispanic and which have large Latino popula- non-Hispanic loss of life. COVID-19 tions. In Florida and California, the was initially thought to primarily number of children testing positive infect and ultimately lead to mortality for COVID-19 grew more than 130 among the elderly. However, the percent and 150 percent, respectively, pandemic has had an outsized impact from July to August. Texas saw nearly on Latinos under the age of 49, who 100,000 new child cases in just two continue to succumb to COVID-19 weeks at the end of July.13 at the highest rates relative to their Experts point to underlying share of the population and, in some structural factors in the disparate age groups, at the highest rates of all case and death rates among His- US cases and deaths.11 panic children. While no consistent The impact on Latino chil- evidence links school openings to dren—95 percent of whom are surges in COVID-19 in general, American citizens—cannot be over- children who live in poverty—41 stated.12 Cases among youth began percent of whom are Latino—dis- to accelerate in the summer of 2020 proportionately attend schools with as many local governments began to substandard facilities that undermine relax quarantine guidelines, including virus mitigation strategies and place in Florida, Texas, and California, students and staff at higher risk.14

Volume 33 | 2021 49 These children are also more likely Imperfect Patchwork: The to live with an essential worker family Social Safety Net and Latinos member or in multigenerational Disparities in public health are only housing, which also increases risk one factor in the various crises the of exposure.15 Latino community now faces. An Even as youth mortality rates re- analysis from UnidosUS has shown main low compared to older patients, that the gap between Latinos and the potential long-term impacts of the national average on several key COVID-19 on an entire generation economic and well-being indicators of Americans should spark signifi- has widened since the start of the cant concern among policymakers; pandemic. Latinos have experienced research suggests the disease can lead the highest rates of unemployment to major organ damage, psychiatric and loss of household income, de- disorders, and multisystem inflam- spite having the highest labor force matory syndrome.16 With such a participation rates of any racial and disproportionate number of young ethnic group.17 Even so, Latinos re- Latinos falling ill, it is not unrea- main over-represented in the essential sonable to assume that Latinos will workforce.18 They are also more likely also share an outsized burden of the than other groups to be employed disease’s long-term health effects. in jobs that cannot be performed

Figure 2: UnidosUS, “By the Numbers: Latinos https://www.unidosus.org/campaigns/ in the Time of Coronavirus,” coronavirus-covid-19/Latino-COVID-19-Dashboard

50 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy remotely, placing them and their in the two most-recent pandemic families at greater risk of exposure.19 relief packages, including the Amer- Compounding the financial con- ican Rescue Plan Act of 2021, these sequences of losing work, Latinos changes only came after intense advo- receive traditional safety net benefits cacy by organizations like UnidosUS at among the lowest rates of all racial and more than a year of millions of and ethnic groups. For example, Lati- families struggling without support. nos make up the smallest share of Meanwhile, the legacy of the so-called unemployed workers who receive UI “alien exclusions” persists, barring benefits.20 In a recent UnidosUS poll, lawfully admitted immigrants from roughly half of Latino respondents federally funded benefits for their indicated they did not apply for UI first five years in the United States.25 benefits, primarily because they felt Intensified by the toxic anti-im- they would not qualify or that the migrant policies and rhetoric of the process was inaccessible.21 Among Trump administration, immigration all workers who do apply, Latinos and policy remains deeply personal to non-Hispanic Blacks are approved at millions of Latino families, despite the lowest rates.22 8 in 10 Latinos being US citizens.26 In other instances, many Latinos Research on Trump-era immigration are barred from receiving economic policies shows that many eligible relief altogether. Recent policy de- children and family members living cisions—in response to COVID-19 in mixed-immigrant status households and changes to the tax code—have are dissuaded from seeking supports expressly excluded many families to which they are legally entitled. An living in mixed-immigration status estimated 6 million children who are households from accessing economic US citizens live with a loved one who impact payments (stimulus checks) is undocumented or has temporary or antipoverty programs such as the immigration status, and many feared Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) accessing vital economic, health, and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).23 and nutritional supports before the An estimated 5.5 million US citizens pandemic.27 The patchwork of com- and green card holders did not receive munity health centers, food banks, stimulus checks under the CARES churches, and emergency rooms have Act because they live in households been further stretched, as they remain where one member files taxes without critical lifelines for many immigrants a Social Security Number.24 Although seeking urgent care and assistance income-eligible US citizens and green (though growing reports of “excess card holders were eventually included deaths” points to increasing incidence

Volume 33 | 2021 51 of people dying at home).28 Thus, “down payment” toward improving the impact of “alien exclusions” may the social safety net and the ability prove far-reaching in their harmful of Latinos and other communities long-term effects on Latino children. of color to access it during periods of Disparities appear to be widening great upheaval, but more is needed. further among Latinos and people Failing to effectively and rigorously who are undocumented. The already respond to the inequities exacerbated high rate of uninsured Latinos has by the pandemic will further widen grown even larger as displaced work- disparities and make the road toward ers lose employer-sponsored health a more just and equitable society coverage and cannot afford coverage far more difficult, expensive, and through the marketplace. Since the protracted. start of the pandemic, more than An inclusive health care system 20 percent of Latinos have reported that promotes equity is essential. Uni- lacking health insurance, per US versal access to testing, treatment, and Census data.29 Many families also vaccines is vital for containing and continue to experience food insecurity defeating COVID-19. Consequently, because of the pandemic’s economic restrictions in Medicaid must be lifted, fallout. As of December 2020, nearly coverage must be expanded to the one in four Latino households with uninsured and underinsured, and children did not have enough to eat.30 discriminatory eligibility restrictions Furthermore, many Latinos are also on SNAP must be abolished. experiencing housing insecurity, Our recovery depends on mea- which threatens to exacerbate the sures being taken to ensure that all affordable housing crisis.31 workers, regardless of immigration status, are included in policies that Building Back Better? The help families financially survive the Moral and Economic pandemic and beyond. This requires Imperative of an Inclusive equal access to stimulus checks and Recovery the EITC and CTC; paid sick and Our country faces a reckoning with family leave; premium “hazard pay” the systemic inequities that have to honor and incentivize essential contributed to the disproportionate workers; and immigration policies health and economic impacts of the that protect essential workers and pandemic on the most vulnerable stabilize the workforce. people in our society. Greater inclu- At nearly 60 million strong, Amer- sivity in the pandemic policy response ica’s Latino community has made via the American Rescue Act is a significant social, economic, and

52 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy political contributions to our nation. 4 Richard Rothstein, The Color of Law: A The battle against COVID-19 is no Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (New York: Liveright different. Latinos are on the frontlines Publishing Corporation, 2017). as essential workers and will play a crit- 5 Cybelle Fox, “Unauthorized Welfare: The ical role in rebuilding our nation after Origins of Immigrant Status Restrictions in the pandemic. Including their voices American Social Policy,” Journal of American and perspectives in policy decisions History 102, 4(2016): 1051–1074. at the local, state, and federal level is 6 Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda et al., Essential but Disposable: Undocumented Workers and Their critical in ensuring an inclusive and Mixed-Status Families—Modeling COVID-19 equitable recovery. Economic Impacts and Government Relief Policies by Race and Immigration Status in Los Endnotes Angeles County, California, and the United States (Los Angeles: UCLA North American 1 The terms Hispanic and Latino are used Integration and Development Center, 2020). interchangeably by the US Census Bureau and 7 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “WHO Di- throughout this document to refer to persons rector-General’s opening remarks at the media of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central and briefing on COVID-19” (media briefing, World South American, Dominican, Spanish, and Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, other Hispanic descent; they may be of any 11 March 2020), accessed 2 December 2020, race. https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/ 2 “US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Unemploy- detail/who-director-general-s-opening-re- ment Rate,” FRED Economic Data, accessed marks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11- 11 March 2021, https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ march-2020; and Donald Trump, “Presidential UNRATE; and “Employee Benefits in the Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020, United States – March 2019,” US Bureau of Declaring a National Emergency Concerning Labor Statistics news release, 19 September the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) 2019, accessed 2 December 2020, https://www. Outbreak,” Federal Register 85, 53(2020): bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.nr0.htm. The latest 15337–15338. data available show that in the United States 8 “COVID Data Tracker,” Centers for in 2019, 76 percent of all workers had access Disease Control and Prevention, accessed to paid sick leave, 71 percent had access to 12 March 2021, https://covid.cdc.gov/ medical benefits, and 76 percent had access to covid-data-tracker/#trends_totalandratecases. paid vacation. There were wide discrepancies 9 The Latino Community in the Time of Coro- to access within these categories between navirus: The Case for a Broad and Inclusive lower- and higher-wage workers, but in the Government Response, UnidosUS, July 2020, aggregate most American workers had access accessed 2 December 2020, http://publica- to benefits. tions.unidosus.org/handle/123456789/2066; 3 Cybelle Fox, Three Worlds of Relief: Race, Im- Emily Ruskin, “The Latino community in migration, and the American Welfare State from the time of coronavirus: Still waiting for a the Progressive Era to the New Deal (Princeton, government response,” (blog) UnidosUS, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2012), 17 August 2020, accessed 1 December 1–18. 2020, https://blog.unidosus.org/2020/08/17/

Volume 33 | 2021 53 the-latino-community-in-the-time-of-corona- accessed 3 December 2020, www.cnn. virus-government-response/; and “VIRTUAL com/2020/08/11/health/florida-coronavi- EVENTS,” UnidosUS, 2020, accessed 1 rus-children/index.html; Laura J. Nelson, December 2020, https://www.unidosus. “Coronavirus Surging among Children, Teen- org/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19/video/ agers in California,” Los Angeles Times, 10 Au- unidosus-virtual-events. gust 2020, accessed 3 December 2020, www. 10 “Weekly Updates by Select Demographic latimes.com/california/story/2020-08-10/coro- and Geographic Characteristics,” Centers navirus-cases-rising-faster-among-children-cal- for Disease Control and Prevention, 4 March ifornia; and Corey Turner, “At Least 97,000 2020, accessed 4 March 2021, https://www.cdc. Children Tested Positive for Coronavirus In gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid_weekly. Note: This is Last 2 Weeks of July,” Houston Public Media, a snapshot in time. These data update weekly 11 August 2020, accessed 3 December 2020, and may show very different numbers shortly www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/ after publication of this report. Importantly, health-science/coronavirus/2020/08/11/379570/ these figures represent data for which race/eth- at-least-97000-children-tested-positive-for- nicity are known. Official government statistics coronavirus-in-last-2-weeks-of-july/. likely understate the true health impacts of 14 Reopening K–12 Schools During the COVID-19 on Latinos for at least two reasons. COVID-19 Pandemic: Prioritizing Health, First, data on the number of cases and deaths Equity, and Communities, National Acade- associated with COVID-19 are incomplete mies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine due to ethnicity information being available (Washington, DC: National Academies Press, for only about 52 percent of cases and 74 2020). percent of COVID-related deaths nationwide. 15 Monika K. Goyal et al., “Racial and/or Ethnic The COVID Tracking Project, a partnership and Socioeconomic Disparities of SARS- between The Atlantic and Boston University, CoV-2 Infection Among Children,” Pediatrics attempts to fill these gaps. As of 4 March 2021, 146, 4(2020): e2020009951. it reports that in Texas, where Latinos make up 16 “Health Department-Reported Cases of 40 percent of the state’s population, ethnicity is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in unknown for 97 percent of cases. Second, so- Children (MIS-C) in the United States,” ciological factors—including negative impacts Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, of a harsh immigration landscape and lack National Center for Immunization and of access to health insurance—appear to be Respiratory Diseases, 24 November 2020, resulting in fewer Latinos seeking testing and accessed 1 December 2020, https://www.cdc. treatment than their non-Hispanic peers and gov/mis-c/cases/index.html (Note: This page dying at home or having deaths misattributed is updated on the first Friday of every month.); to other causes at higher rates. Jennifer Couzin-Frankel, “From ‘Brain Fog’ 11 “Weekly Updates.” to Heart Damage, COVID-19’s Lingering 12 “2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Problems Alarm Scientists,” Science, 31 July Estimates,” US Census Bureau, accessed 21 2020, accessed 1 December 2020, https://www. October 2019, https://www.census.gov/news- sciencemag.org/news/2020/07/brain-fog-heart- room/press-kits/2019/acs-1year.html. damage-covid-19-s-lingering-problems-alarm- 13 Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt, “Florida’s scientists; Trisha Greenhalgh et al., “Manage- COVID-19 Cases in Children Have Increased ment of post-acute covid-19 in primary care,” 137% in Past Month,” CNN, 11 August 2020, The BMJ 370 (2020); Carlos del Rio, Lauren F.

54 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Collins, and Preeti Malani, “Long-term Health 22 Alix Gould-Werth and H. Luke Shaefer, Consequences of COVID-19,” JAMA 324, “Unemployment Insurance participation by 17(2020): 1723–1724; and Shana Godfred-Cato education and by race and ethnicity,” Monthly et al., “COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Labor Review 135 (2012): 28–41. Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — 23 Jacob Leibenluft, “Tax Bill Ends Child United States, March–July 2020,” Morbidity Tax Credit for About 1 Million Children,” and Mortality Weekly Report 69, 32(2020): Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Off the 1074–1080. Charts (blog), 18 December 2017, accessed 17 Latino Jobs Report: Latino Unemployment 30 November 2020, https://www.cbpp.org/ Rate Remains High at 8.4%, UnidosUS, 4 blog/tax-bill-ends-child-tax-credit-for-about- December 2020, accessed 4 December 1-million-children; Dana Thomson et al., 2020, http://publications.unidosus.org/han- State Policy and Practice Related to Earned dle/123456789/2105; and “By the Numbers: Income Tax Credits May Affect Receipt among Latinos in the Time of Coronavirus,” Unido- Hispanic Families with Children (Bethesda, sUS, accessed 3 December 2020, https://www. MD: Child Trends, 2020). unidosus.org/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19/ 24 Muzaffar Chishti and Jessica Bolter, Latino-COVID-19-Dashboard. “Vulnerable to COVID-19 and in Frontline 18 Hinojosa-Ojeda et al., Essential but Jobs, Immigrants Are Mostly Shut Out of Disposable. U.S. Relief,” Migration Policy Institute, 24 19 Lisa Dubay et al., How Risk of Exposure to April 2020, accessed 11 December 2020, the Coronavirus at Work Varies by Race and https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/ Ethnicity and How to Protect the Health and covid19-immigrants-shut-out-federal-relief. Well-Being of Workers and Their Families, 25 Ling Zhu and Ping Xu, “The Politics of Welfare Urban Institute, 2 December 2020, accessed Exclusion: Immigration and Disparity in 7 December 2020, https://www.urban.org/ Medicaid Coverage,” Policy Studies Journal 43 research/publication/how-risk-exposure-coro- (2015): 456–483. navirus-work-varies-race-and-ethnicity-and- 26 UnidosUS calculation using Sarah Flood, how-protect-health-and-well-being-workers- Miriam King, Renae Rodgers, Steven Ruggles, and-their-families. and J. Robert Warren, Integrated Public Use 20 Phillip Swagel, “Characteristics of People Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Receiving Regular Unemployment Benefits in Version 6.0. July 2020,” Congressional Budget Office Letter 27 Carlos Guevara, Beyond the Border: Family to Committee on Ways and Means, 1 July 2020, Separation in the Trump Era (Washington, DC: accessed 7 December 2020, https://www.cbo. UnidosUS, 2019), http://publications.unidosus. gov/system/files/2020-07/56447-CBO-UI-let- org/handle/123456789/1915. ter.pdf. 28 Charles Ornstein and Mike Hixenbaugh, 21 “Experiences with Income Loss and UI “A Spike in People Dying at Home Suggests Benefits During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Coronavirus Deaths in Houston May Be High- Latinos In Arizona, Florida, And Texas,” er Than Reported,” ProPublica, 8 July 2020, UnidosUS, 14–24 July 2020, accessed 1 accessed 4 December 2020, www.propublica. December 2020, http://publications.unidosus. org/article/a-spike-in-people-dying-at-home- org/bitstream/handle/123456789/2075/ suggests-coronavirus-deaths-in-houston-may- unidosus_latinodecisions_uisurvey_july2020. be-higher-than-reported; Riham Feshir, “A pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y. Medical Haven for Latino Immigrants in Rural

Volume 33 | 2021 55 Minnesota,” MPR News, 23 November 2020, accessed 4 December 2020, www.mprnews. org/story/2020/11/23/a-medical-haven-for-latino-immigrants-in-rural-minnesota; and Lauren M. Rossen et al., “Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19, by Age and Race and Eth- nicity—United States, January 26–October 3, 2020,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 69, 42(2020): 1522–1527. 29 “By the Numbers: Latinos in the Time of Coronavirus,” UnidosUS (n.d.), accessed 11 December 2020, https://www.unidosus. org/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19/ Latino-COVID-19-Dashboard. 30 “By the Numbers.” 31 Agatha So, Struggling to Stay Home: Latino Renters in the COVID-19 Pandemic (Washing- ton, DC: UnidosUS, 2020), http://publications. unidosus.org/handle/123456789/2087.

56 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Commentary Mitigating the Impacts of Childhood Exposure to Domestic Violence on Latino Children in California

By Marina Sangit, MPP, survivor and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Child Welfare Graduate Fellow

Marina Sangit was born in Los she went on to institutionalize the Angeles, California, and is a proud Campus Advocacy, Resources, mixed-race, Mexicana-Gujarati and Education (CARE) woman. As a survivor, public department—a department servant, and advocate, she uses her responsible for advocating for lived experiences and professional survivors of sexual and domestic experiences to advance change violence—and establish sexual that can help improve the lives of violence prevention education children and families impacted by standards. While educating her violence through public policy. campus community, she found that these interventions were Marina attained her double coming too late for many students bachelors in gender and sexuality and shifted her focus to early studies and public policy at childhood violence prevention and University of California Riverside. intervention strategies. There she was given access to education that gave her the Researching violence prevention language to describe the violence strategies for children led her she witnessed in her life and ways to child welfare policy and to to mitigate it. Recognizing the her pursuit of a master of public need for campus-wide education, policy degree from Pepperdine

Volume 33 | 2021 57 University. As a graduate student, violence generally suffer worse she worked for Pepperdine’s physical, mental, and behavioral 3 Health, Wellness, and Resilience outcomes. For Latino youth, the impacts of domestic violence are department doing mental, physical, worsened by disparities in health and community health education and poverty, structural racism, and programming. Additionally, and familism. Despite represent- she interned at Los Angeles Board ing over 4 million Californians and 48 percent of the total child Supervisor Sheila Kuehl’s office population, Latino children in and California State Senator California are not centered in do- Robert Hertzberg’s office, where mestic violence prevention policy.4 she conducted research looking at Standard methods of prevention public health outcomes and social are not effective in mitigating the impacts of childhood exposure to policy projects. Now she’s taken her domestic violence and must shift to advocacy one step further in serving more reliable methods. Growing as the Child Welfare Graduate bodies of research have found that Fellow for the Congressional prevention education is a reliable Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). method that mitigates the harmful impacts of exposure to domestic After her fellowship ends, she hopes violence, and some states have to continue advocating for her shown that passing comprehensive communities in the child welfare prevention education is possible. policy space. To best protect one of its most vulnerable populations, Latino children, California must pass a Introduction culturally competent and com- Fifteen and a half million children prehensive prevention education in the United States live in house- policy. holds where they are exposed to domestic violence.1 The saliency of Background this issue continues to be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and Defining Domestic Violence the “stay-at-home” orders, which Using the California Department of have increased domestic violence Public Health’s definition, domestic at alarming rates.2 Research shows violence is defined as “a spectrum that children exposed to domestic and often a pattern of behaviors that

58 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy includes physical, sexual, verbal, term, they may be at higher risk for emotional, and psychological abuse diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.10 and/or economic control used by Other physiological symptoms include adults or adolescents against their trouble falling asleep, bed wetting, current or former intimate partners showing signs of terror, and engaging in an attempt to exercise power and in risky behaviors such as imbibing authority, which has a destructive, in drugs or alcohol.11 Psychologically, harmful effect on individuals, the children who are exposed to domestic family and the community.”5 This violence may develop fear, anxiety, definition is important because it and depression.12 Children may also is inclusive of a range of intimate develop post-traumatic stress disor- relationships and family structures. der (PTSD).13 In fact, children who Further, a clinical study done by were exposed to violence for more Kaiser Permanente and the Centers than 75 percent of their lives exhibit for Disease Control on Adverse Child- significantly more PTSD problems hood Experiences (ACEs) found a than children who are not exposed.14 strong graded relationship between Emotionally, children may express the breadth of exposure to abuse a number of behaviors or responses or household dysfunction during due to exposure including intense childhood and multiple risk factors terror, fear of death, fear of loss of for several of the leading causes of a parent, rage, feelings of guilt, and death in adults.6 Domestic violence is a sense of responsibility for the vi- considered an ACE, a traumatic event olence.15 This is supported by evi- occurring before the age of 18.7 While dence in maternal reports that state the Kaiser Permanente study did not 47 percent of children responded to examine the intersection of ACEs and violent incidents with intense levels Latino identity, more recent studies of emotional distress.16 Additionally, show that Latinos report significantly children exposed to domestic violence higher rates of exposure to ACEs.8 are a high-risk population for either becoming abusers or entering abusive Impacts of Childhood relationships themselves.17 Children Exposure to Domestic Violence may experience one or all of these Children who are exposed to domestic symptoms and outcomes due to ex- violence suffer worse physiological, posure to domestic violence. psychological, and emotional out- In a study focused on the rela- comes.9 Physiologically, some may tionship between parental intimate experience stomach aches or head- partner victimization and youth ado- aches in the short term; in the long lescent abuse, researchers found that

Volume 33 | 2021 59 different kinds of exposure to violence poverished, comprising 51.4 percent translated into similar patterns in of poor Californians but only 39.6 adolescent and adult relationships.18 percent of the state population.22 It can be concluded that exposure to The widespread level of poverty across domestic violence is likely to predis- the Latino community is significant pose children to enter into violent because poverty restricts the resources relationships as adolescents and adults. used to develop healthy habits and While the impacts of domestic vio- behaviors.23 Poverty is also associated lence are varied based on the level of with a variety of adverse health out- exposure children have, Latino youth comes.24 These outcomes include face increased vulnerability due to shorter life expectancy, higher rates other risk factors such as poverty or of infant mortality, higher death rates citizenship status.19 Latino youth also for the 14 leading causes of death, and show higher rates of delinquency and these can alter children’s cognitive, alcohol use as a result of exposure to socio-emotional, and physical develop- domestic violence.20 ment.25,26 That means Latino children who are impoverished are also more California Domestic Violence likely to be food insecure, more likely Prevention Policies Cannot Be to develop toxic stress, and are at the Effective Until They Address greatest risk for poor life outcomes.27 the Unique Challenges Latino Children Face Health Disparities Despite Latinos making up 48 percent One of the ways to mitigate impacts of the total child population in Cal- of exposure to domestic violence is ifornia, statewide domestic violence through preventative medicine or prevention policies do not address the through medical interventions (e.g., compounding disparities (e.g., eco- therapy, medicine). However, for nomic and health disparities) Latino many Latino children this is not a children face while being exposed to viable option due to structural bar- domestic violence.21 Economic and riers to access. Structural barriers health disparities, structural racism, are obstacles that collectively and and familism intensify the impacts disproportionately affect a group by of exposure to domestic violence on perpetuating or maintaining dispari- Latino children. ties in outcomes.28 Structural barriers to accessing health care, in this case, Economic Disparities are policies and practices that sys- In comparison to other racial groups, tematically disadvantage the Latino Latinos are disproportionately im- community.29

60 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy A key structural barrier to accessing when Spanish-speaking members of health care is health insurance, and the Latino community attempt to ac- in the United States, Latinos have cess medical treatment, they are likely the highest uninsured rates of any not receiving accurate and quality care racial or ethnic group.30 The high due to barriers in communication.37 uninsured rates are affected by a lack Further, Latino children face phys- of employer coverage (e.g., Latinos are iological health disparities and are at overrepresented in the essential and greater risk of heart disease, cancer, gig labor economies) and citizenship stroke, and diabetes.38 This may be restrictions.31 Without insurance, due to a lack of access to preventa- Latino families often weigh medical tive care (e.g., check-ups, screenings needs equally to other basic needs, for preventable diseases).39 Though like transportation and food, due to medical care can be used to address the high cost of medical care without the impacts of domestic violence, insurance.32 In fact, uninsured patients it is clear that it is not necessarily a are charged two to four times more reliable or accessible option for many than what health insurers or public Latino youth. programs pay for hospital services, and in many cases they are asked to pay Structural Racism & Familism up front before they receive care.33 Structural racism negatively impacts Although federal health insurance typical pathways to mitigate exposure policies have widened access for to domestic violence, which include low-income Latino families, Latinos utilizing social services (e.g., home who are undocumented do not have visitation, assigned social workers), access to federal health insurance accessing prevention policies, and coverage (Medicare, Medicaid, Chil- using other resources (e.g., nonprofits dren’s Health Insurance Program, or or mutual aid networks that provide the Affordable Care Act).34 services for families impacted by Even if Latino children are able domestic violence). However, these to access healthcare, they must still pathways tend to disadvantage the contend with language and cultural Latino community. In many instances, barriers that exist within the medical Latinos must overcome a language system.35 Despite laws dictating that barrier in order to use these resourc- hospitals and other medical facilities es.40 Other factors that dissuade and provide meaningful access to their inhibit the Latino community from patients, many continue to fall short accessing resources are a lack of famil- and rely on family members or friends iarity with the legal system, a fear of to interpret for them.36 That means deportation, and a limited knowledge

Volume 33 | 2021 61 about the resources that are avail- children.46 A potential consequence able.41 Domestic violence prevention of Latino youth who seek to intervene policies also tend to be punitive and by seeking help or speaking up is result in out-of-family support rather victimization, which means Latino than in-family support.42 youth may also become targets of Latino children may also be in- abuse (e.g., abuse can range from structed not to seek help by their verbal, physical, psychological, or families due to familism.43 Familism emotional).47 is a multifaceted traditional Latino cultural value that dictates norms, The Intersections of ACEs and expectations, and beliefs about the Risk Factors family.44 Key features of familism that Policies that view exposure to do- can impact Latino youths’ ability to mestic violence independently from seek help are: other risk factors, such as economic 1. the subjugation of one’s indi- disparities, health disparities, struc- vidual needs to those of the tural racism, and familism, cannot family; appropriately mitigate the impacts 2. greater expectations surround- of Latino children exposed to doing family responsibility com- mestic violence. Such policies lack pared with non-Latino white the cultural competencies needed individuals; and to understand the full scope of the 3. obedience and respect for problem and how to solve it. those in positions of authority within the family.45 Limitations of Current Familism in Latino households is Domestic Violence Prevention meant to serve as a protective mech- Policies in California anism for Latino youth; however, The greatest limitations of domestic when it comes to domestic violence, violence prevention policies in Cali- familism may also cause youth not fornia are that they are not equipped to seek help even if they are under to meet the needs of Latino chil- immense stress. Speaking out could dren. California domestic violence be perceived as uprooting the family, prevention policies do not consider disobedience, and putting the needs the structural and cultural factors of the child before the safety and that prevent Latino children who are cohesion of the family. In a house- exposed to domestic violence from hold experiencing domestic violence, seeking help. As a result, Latino youth seeking help or speaking out can are effectively left out of prevention also increase risk of harm for Latino considerations.

62 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Due to Latino youth not being cen- must take an innovative approach tered in prevention efforts, resources to helping Latino youth. A culturally and policies are geared towards sup- competent prevention policy should port services for adults with little help be driven by the following objectives: available to Latino children. These 1. Focus prevention on building policies place the onus of seeking help resilience and capacity in Lati- on an adult rather than building access no youth to deal with exposure for youth who are being harmed by to domestic violence at home. exposure to domestic violence. This i. Resilience should be leaves Latino youth in an incredibly defined as “the process of difficult situation if adults in their adapting well in the face of household are not seeking help and adversity, trauma, tragedy, can result in Latino youth not receiv- threats, or significant sources ing the help they need. of stress.”49 Latino youth who do end up in the ii. Prevention policies welfare system are also at risk of further should focus on building traumatization due to caseworkers, resilience and capacity by mandated and other reporters, being promoting protective factors. discriminatory or making decisions iii. Protective factors are based on racial biases.48 defined as “conditions or attributes of individuals that, when Culturally Competent, present, promote wellbeing Youth-Centered Prevention and reduce the risk for nega- Policies Are Needed to tive outcomes in children ex- Effectively Mitigate the posed to domestic violence.”50 Impacts of Domestic Violence iv. Protective factors on Latino Children should include, but are not Current interventions in California, limited to, teaching children at the state and agency level, are self-regulation skills (e.g., not equipped to address the needs emotional awareness, anger of Latino youth because there is no management, stress manage- existing legislative infrastructure in ment, and cognitive coping place for prevention. A prevention skills) and problem-solving policy that does not exist cannot skills (e.g., adaptive function- mitigate the impacts of exposure to ing and the ability to solve domestic violence, let alone address problems).51 the specific needs of Latino youth. 2. Develop a plan that is cultur- Prevention policies and strategies ally competent and takes on

Volume 33 | 2021 63 a comprehensive approach to ii. The assessment or sur- addressing the unique dispar- vey used to measure effective- ities Latino youth face. ness should receive technical i. Cultural competence assistance from entities like, should be defined as “the in- but not limited to, the Amer- tegration of knowledge about ican Pediatric Association in individuals and groups of peo- order to design an assessment ple into specific standards, that most accurately evaluates policies, practices, and atti- how effective the policy is. tudes used to increase the These objectives can be reasonably quality of services; thereby achieved through a comprehensive producing better outcomes.”52 prevention education policy. A com- ii. The plan should con- prehensive prevention education sult Latino community mem- policy in California would require bers (e.g., parents, children, that students receive age-appropriate community leaders), entities domestic violence education from doing prevention work (e.g., K-12 schools and that Latino students mutual aid networks, nonprof- receive tailored domestic violence its), and available state data education that considers the specif- (e.g., kidsdata.org) to discern ic challenges they face. The policy what their needs are. would couch the domestic violence iii. Prevention policies education requirement within the should be comprehensive, California Department of Education’s meaning the policy address- Health Education Framework for es structural barriers (e.g., students and expand the sexual health language, citizenship) and requirement to include topics such disparities that the Latino as consent, healthy and unhealthy community faces. relationships, and how to cope with 3. The prevention policy should violence at home. Teachers who teach measure the effectiveness of health would be required to deliver the program. this information along with other i. The policy should use educational objectives outlined in assessments that measure the the Health Education Framework. effectiveness, defined as “Lati- Tailored domestic violence educa- no youth meeting learning tion should include topics that are outcomes and objectives that tailored towards addressing potential help them better navigate vi- challenges Latino youth may have in olence at home.” identifying domestic violence, how to

64 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy build resilience while being exposed ucation curriculum or framework; to domestic violence, and how to expand on existing health education access confidential, non-punitive curriculum; set educational content resources. It is also imperative that standards all school boards must meet, domestic violence education is of- including the definition of domestic fered in Spanish because of the 1.148 violence, warning signs of dating million English learners in California abuse, and characteristics of a healthy public schools, 81.44 percent of whom relationship; and purposefully target speak Spanish.53 students in grades 7 through 12, which A Journal of Youth and Adolescence is consistent with CDC findings that report on adult victimization and the show that 11-to-17-year-old children impact on children concluded that are a high-risk group.56 While we do their findings support prevention not yet know the specific impacts programming for children to recog- of these policies, these states show nize and address challenging familial that legislating statewide domestic patterns.54 Federal agencies like the violence prevention policy is a viable Centers for Disease Control (CDC) option to address domestic violence and the US Department of Health and prevention, and research validates the Human Services made the same deter- reliability of prevention education pol- mination: prevention education is one icy in mitigating the harmful impacts of the most effective ways to mitigate of exposure to domestic violence. the overarching impacts of exposure California should expand beyond to domestic violence on children. It what states have previously accom- is critical to note that multiple states, plished and aim to create a culturally including Rhode Island, Nebraska, competent and youth-centered pre- Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Oregon, and vention education policy. Not only Louisiana, show that it is possible to is this feasible, but the state has the pass successful statewide, mandatory ability to amass political support for prevention education policies focused this measure given the established on mitigating the impacts of domestic facts involved and the importance violence.55 The successful enactment of elevating the issues impacting of these statewide policies seem to Latino children. The state can also rely on similar legislative strategies find natural partners, such as local that incorporate prevention educa- Domestic Violence Councils and tion into existing statewide education advocacy groups, in education efforts policies. A significant majority of to curb domestic violence. The state these states situate domestic violence has access to the necessary education prevention in their state health ed- and public school data housed within

Volume 33 | 2021 65 the Department of Education, public to promote resilience and mitigate health data housed within the Depart- the impact of exposure to domestic ment of Public Health, and economic violence. data housed in the Population Refer- ence Bureau to craft an educational Endnotes framework that can best serve Latino children. It is recommended that 1 Linda Chamberlain, Updated Com- prehensive Review of Interventions California create content standards for Children Exposed to Domestic for domestic violence education, Violence, Futures Without Violence mandate that schools incorporate (2018). domestic violence education into 2 Brad Boserup, Mark McKenney, and their health education framework and Adel Elkbuli, “Alarming trends in US health courses for students enrolled domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic,” The American Journal in K-12 public schools, and establish of Emergency Medicine 38,12(2020): cultural competency standards directly 2753–2755. linked to serving Latino children. 3 “Preventing Violence in California The COVID-19 pandemic has Volume I: The Role of Public Health,” shown the severity of the impact of California Department of Public Health: domestic violence on Latino chil- Violence Prevention Initiative (Sacremen- to, California: May 2017). dren and the deep disparities that 4 “Demographics,” California Department are embedded into systems meant to of Finance, https://www.dof.ca.gov/ protect them. Without addressing the Forecasting/Demographics/Estimates/; long-standing health and economic “Population and Housing Unit Estimates,” disparities, structural racism, and California Department of Finance, familism compounding the negative https://www.dof.ca.gov/Forecasting/ Demographics/. social, behavioral, developmental, 5 “Domestic Violence/Intimate Partner and health impacts of domestic vi- Violence,” California Department of Pub- olence on Latino children, effective lic Health, www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/ prevention is not possible. California CCDPHP/DCDIC/SACB/Pages/Do- has the opportunity and the resources mesticViolenceIntimatePartnerViolence. to give Latino children the tools they aspx. 6 Vincent J. Felitti et al., “Relationship need to build resilience and capacity of childhood abuse and household when exposed to domestic violence. dysfunction to many of the leading causes Given its demographics, California of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood should implement a model statewide Experiences (ACE) Study,” American prevention education policy that is Journal of Preventive Medicine 14, culturally competent and centers 4(1998): 245–258. 7 “Adverse Childhood Experiences Data the needs of Latino children in order Report: Behavioral Risk Factor Sur-

66 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy veillance System (BRFSS), 2011-2017,” between parents’ intimate partner victim- California Department of Public Health ization and youths’ adolescent relationship and California Department of Social Ser- abuse,” Journal of Youth and Adoles- vices, October 2020, www.cdph.ca.gov/ cence 47, 2(2018): 321–333. Programs/CCDPHP/DCDIC/SACB/ 19 E. Susana Mariscal, “Resilience following CDPH%20Document%20Library/Essen- exposure to intimate partner violence and tials%20for%20Childhood%20Initiative/ other violence: A comparison of Latino ACEs-BRFSS-Update_final%2010.26.20. and non-Latino youth,” Children and pdf. Youth Services Review 113 (2020): 8 Melissa T. Merrick et al., “Prevalence 104975. of adverse childhood experiences from 20 Mariscal, “Resilience following exposure.” the 2011-2014 behavioral risk factor 21 “Summary: Hispanic/Latino Children,” surveillance system in 23 states,” JAMA Kidsdata.org, www.kidsdata.org/de- Pediatrics 172, 11(2018): 1038–1044. mographic/17/hispaniclatino-children/ 9 Gail Hornor, “Domestic violence and summary#87/demographics. children,” Journal of Pediatric Health 22 Sarah Bohn, Caroline Danielson, and Care 19, 4(2005): 206–212. Tess Thorman, “Poverty in California,” 10 “Effects of Domestic Violence Public Policy Institute of California, on Children,” US Department of July 2020, www.ppic.org/publication/ Human and Health Services Of- poverty-in-california/. fice on Women’s Health, https:// 23 Patricia Czapp and Kevin Kovach, “Poverty www.womenshealth.gov/relation- and Health - The Family Medicine Per- ships-and-safety/domestic-violence/ spective (Position Paper),” AAFP, www.aafp. effects-domestic-violence-children. org/about/policies/all/poverty-health.html. 11 “Effects of Domestic Violence on 24 Czapp and Kovach, “Poverty and Health.” Children.” 25 Czapp and Kovach, “Poverty and Health.” 12 Betsy McAlister Groves, “Mental Health 26 “Children Participating in CalWORKs,” Services for Children Who Witness Kidsdata.org, www.kidsdata.org/topic/670/ Domestic Violence,” The Future of calworks/. Children 9, 3(1999): 122–132. 27 “Children Participating in CalWORKS.” 13 Hornor, “Domestic violence and 28 Margaret C. Simms et al., “Structural children.” Barriers to Racial Equity in Pittsburgh: 14 George W. Holden, “Children exposed to Expanding Economic Opportunity for domestic violence and child abuse: Termi- African American Boys,” Urban Institute nology and taxonomy,” Clinical Child (2015). and Family Psychology Review 6, 29 Simms et al., “Structural Barriers.” 3(2003): 151–160. 30 “Profile: Hispanic/Latino Americans,” 15 Groves, “Mental Health Services.” US Department of Human and Health 16 Holden, “Children exposed to domestic Services Office of Minority Health, violence.” minorityhealth.hhs.gov/omh/browse. 17 “Effects of Domestic Violence on aspx?lvl=3&lvlid=64. Children.” 31 Elaiza Torralba, “Despite Health Insur- 18 Weiwei Liu, Elizabeth A. Mumford, ance Gains in California, Latinos Still Lag and Bruce G. Taylor, “The relationship in Coverage, Access,” UCLA Newsroom,

Volume 33 | 2021 67 https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/lati- role of Familism in the lives of Latino nos-health-insurance-coverage-california. Adolescents,” Journal of Family Issues 36, 32 Rachel Garfield, Kendal Orgera, and 10(2015): 1255–1273. Anthony Damico, “The Uninsured and 44 Stein et al., “The protective role.” the ACA: A Primer - Key Facts about 45 Stein et al., “The protective role.” Health Insurance and the Uninsured 46 Holden, “Children exposed to domestic amidst Changes to the Affordable Care violence.” Act,” Kaiser Family Foundation, 25 January 47 Holden, “Children exposed to domestic 2019, https://www.kff.org/uninsured/ violence.” report/the-uninsured-and-the-aca-a-prim- 48 “Racial Disproportionality and Dispar- er-key-facts-about-health-insurance-and- ity in Child Welfare,” Child Welfare the-uninsured-amidst-changes-to-the- Information Gateway, November 2016, affordable-care-act/. www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue-briefs/ 33 Garfield, Orgera, and Damico, “The racial-disproportionality/. Uninsured and the ACA.” 49 “Building your resilience,” American 34 Samantha Artiga and Maria Diaz, “Health Psychological Association, 2012, http:// Coverage and Care of Undocumented www.apa.org/topics/resilience Immigrants,” Kaiser Family Founda- 50 Development Services Group Inc. tion, 15 July 2019, https://www.kff.org/ and Child Welfare Information, “Pro- racial-equity-and-health-policy/issue-brief/ moting Protective Factors for Children health-coverage-and-care-of-undocu- Exposed to Domestic Violence: A mented-immigrants/. Guide for Practitioners,” 2015, https:// 35 “Profile: Hispanic/Latino Americans.” www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/ 36 Sheila Mulrooney Eldred, “With Scarce guide-domesticviolence/. Access to Interpreters, Immigrants Strug- 51 “Promoting Protective Factors.” gle to Understand Doctors’ Orders,” NPR, 52 “Cultural Competence In Health And 15 August 2018, https://www.npr.org/sec- Human Services,” National Prevention tions/health-shots/2018/08/15/638913165/ Information Network, Centers for Disease with-scarce-access-to-medical-interpret- Control and Prevention, https://npin.cdc. ers-immigrant-patients-struggle-to-unders. gov/pages/cultural-competence. 37 Eldred, “With Scarce Access.” 53 “Facts about English Learners in 38 Eldred, “With Scarce Access.” California – CalEdFacts,” California 39 “Profile: Hispanic/Latino Americans.” Department of Education, https://www. 40 Amy C. Denham et al., “Intimate partner cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/cefelfacts.asp violence among Latinas in eastern North 54 Liu, Mumford, and Taylor. “Parents’ Carolina,” Violence Against Women 13, intimate partner victimization.” 2(2007): 123–140. 55 “Teen Dating Violence,” National Con- 41 Denham et al., “Intimate partner ference of State Legislatures, 11 October violence.” 2018, www.ncsl.org/research/health/ 42 Dorothy Roberts, “Race and Class in the teen-dating-violence.aspx. Child Welfare System,” PBS Frontline, 56 “Teen Dating Violence.” 2002, www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ shows/fostercare/caseworker/roberts.html 43 Gabriela L. Stein et al., “The protective

68 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Commentary Digitalization and the Latino Workforce

By Juan Diego Mazuera Arias

Juan Diego Mazuera Arias is Abstract currently the legislative fellow and The American workforce has been the immigration co-lead for the office foundation of the American economy. Working is ingrained in American cul- of Congresswoman Alexandria ture and continues to be the ongoing Ocasio-Cortez through the force to obtain the American Dream. Congressional Hispanic Caucus However, the American workforce is Institute’s Public Policy Fellowship. constantly changing, and currently it Prior to joining Representative is undergoing rapid changes due to the digitalization of jobs across the Ocasio-Cortez’s team, Mazuera economy. Thousands of Americans did his first placement at the are displaced from their jobs every year Aspen Institute Latinos & Society because of the automatization of jobs Program. He is a lifelong advocate and tasks that lead to the creation of a digital economy.1 The COVID-19 for immigrant rights and Latino- pandemic has allowed for these dis- owned small businesses. placements to become a more-present Mazuera was born in Pereira, trend and speed up the process of Colombia, and raised in Charlotte, those in industries and jobs that do North Carolina. He holds a not involve digital skills to become displaced and left unaccounted for bachelor’s degree of political in the workforce. The Latino com- science from Queens University of munity is particularly at risk of being Charlotte. displaced by digitalization in sectors they overrepresent, such as hospitality

Volume 33 | 2021 69 and construction. A failure to prepare of skills crafted by technology and Latinos for the digital economy will absolving the need for human la- cause economic repercussions to the bor—potentially causing workforce US economy by creating a shortage displacement. of skilled workers in a workforce that In recent decades, the introduc- is gradually shrinking and aging.2 tion of digital technology into almost Such shortfalls can create further every business and workplace has greater economic disparities within and continues to transform the US the community. economy, the workplace, and the workforce. While digitalization has Introduction made waves of progress and contrib- Digitalization refers to the digital uted to the success of many businesses representation of physical objects, and companies, it has also caused a attributes, or skills. An example of series of unintended consequences digitalization is the copy of a docu- like workforce displacement. ment; instead of physical handwriting The US workforce is made up and copying an original document, of more than 157 million Ameri- a scanner/printer can scan a paper cans.4 Out of those millions, almost document and save it as a digital doc- 27 million are Latinos.5 And from ument. Digitization is the connection the entire US workforce, Latinos between the physical world and soft- have accounted for nearly 75 percent ware technology. It is the enablement of all labor growth in the past six and improvement processes of digital years.6 This is a significant number technologies to collect data, causing of Latinos who might be impacted by the integration of digital technologies the consequences of digitalization if into everyday life. Digitalization is proper action is not done to mediate usually used to change and mod- the transition from low digital-skilled ernize business models, providing workers to high digital-skilled workers. fresh new ideas and opportunities to Digitalization has hit all industries allow a business to prosper and have from medical to auto mechanics to re- a competitive edge. tail. Nurses are relying on technology In the late 1990s, digitalization was to detect diagnosis that they could not promoted to increase internet connec- have detected before; auto mechanics tions.3 Now, with the development of use technology to make sure a car’s fast mobile internet such as 5G and engine is running; and retail workers advanced robotics, digitalization is are using iPhones and EasyPay tech- seen as promoting efficiency and nology to process transactions. productivity, enabling new forms While digitalization has created

70 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy massive opportunities for businesses who do not have those skills, as they and increased their empowerment and have spent their whole lives working profits, it has caused the American in industries that require little to no workforce anxiety over their ability to digital skills. As technology becomes work and questioning whether their more widely available in developed skills are being overpowered by the countries like the United States, the future of technology and machines costs of production technology lowers, that can easily complete those tasks making it easier for production to be for them. digitalized while the need for manual Despite there being little to no labor decreases.9 data on the spread of digitalization It is important to understand that across industries and workplaces, The as technology becomes more efficient Brookings Institute released a report and productive, labor will become that provided a detailed analysis of less important for expansion, allowing changes in the digital content of 545 businesses to prioritize workers who occupations that make up almost 90 are digitally skilled and push aside percent of the workforce in all indus- workers who do not have digital skills. tries since the early 2000s.7 The report When certain labor-intensive jobs also highlights the rapid transition begin to digitalize, workers will not and increase of digital usage. be as necessary as they used to be. The widespread expansion of dig- A workforce that is highly digitally italization in different industries has skilled will then be required. Work- caused an increase in wanting and ers with no digital skills set will no needing a large share of US jobs to longer have the ability to continue require a substantial digital skillset. to work in industries that are prone From 2002 to 2016, the need for dig- to digitalization leading to workforce ital skills increased in the workplace displacement. from 40 percent to 48 percent for Multiple managers and employees mild digital skills and 5 percent to have stated their concerns towards in- 23 percent for advanced skills. While dustries that are at risk of digitalization the need for digital skills increased and displacement. In a Pew Research overall during that time period, the study, Mark Maben, a general man- need for no digital skills decreased ager at Seton Hall University, wrote, from 56 percent to 30 percent.8 “Right now, we are ill-prepared to While digitalization impacts the manage how artificial intelligence need for businesses to hire workers will disrupt the nature of work across with medium to high-level digital the globe [. . .]. Humanity has to plan skills, it also impacts American workers immediately for the loss of literally

Volume 33 | 2021 71 billions of jobs around the world as • 35 percent of manufacturing AI and automation replace people workers have limited or no in all types of work. This means gov- digital skills. ernments must step up to provide for • 33 percent of workers in the displaced workers through benefits health and social work sector like [. . .] guiding people to accept a have limited or no digital skills. new definition for what it means to perform meaningful work.”10 Industries that include the demo- Problem graphic of low digitally skilled workers While digitalization impacts Amer- and are at high risk of displacing their ican workers across the nation, it human assets are manufacturing, particularly impacts Latinos who dis- health and social work, hospitality, proportionately make up industries retail, and construction.11 And with that do not require digital skills and the COVID-19 pandemic causing are underrepresented in industries and digitalization to rapidly increase in job selections that do require digital those industries, workers need to de- skills or transfer skills into digital velop digital skills set to overcome skills. Latinos are underrepresented digitalization and avoid displacement. in industries with the highest degrees The National Skills Coalition of adoption of digital technologies: released a fact sheet in April 2020 professional and business services, that highlighted the digital skill gaps finance and insurance, education and of American workers across the five health services, and information and major industries, and it found that 1 communications technology. These in 3 American workers have limited or four industries provide jobs that are no digital skills.12 The main findings less likely to be displaced by auto- of this report are the following: mation. The underrepresentation of Latinos in highly digitalized industries • 50 percent of construction, shows the need to increase access to transportation, and storage education and training opportunities sector workers have limited to upskill the Latino workforce.13 or no digital skills. Workers with a high school de- • 37 percent of workers in retail, gree or less are four times as likely wholesale, and auto repair as those with a bachelor’s degree to have limited or no digital skills. be displaced by automation. Workers • 36 percent of hospitality work- without any college education are less ers have limited or no digital likely to be able to work remotely and skills. more likely to have lost their jobs,

72 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy when compared to their college-edu- are automated. These changes are cated counterparts.14 This means that inflicting a structural shift inside the the 25 percent of Latino workers who economy as more human beings work do not have a high school diploma remotely or participate in distance are at a higher risk of being displaced, learning. At the same time, as lots of compared with less than 10 percent those shifts are likely to be effective in for other racial and ethnic groups.15 the lengthy time period, it is creating Despite the progression of Latinos disruptions for the Latino community, being represented in digital jobs, they mainly for workers who maintain jobs are still underrepresented severely. that cannot be performed remotely. Only 6.8 percent of Latinos have dig- The World Economic Forum’s ital jobs.16 And while Latino workers Future of Jobs Report 2020 predicts are around 14 percent of all workers, the upward push of machines and they make up 35 percent of those automation will do away with 85 with no digital skills and 20 percent million jobs by 2025.20 However, of those with limited skills.17 WEF additionally expects 97 mil- COVID-19 has particularly im- lion new jobs can be created in the pacted the Latino workforce as numer- course of that point. The addition of ous workplaces have digitized due to 12 million jobs is expected to include social distancing restrictions, such as a developing demand for facts analysts, implementing teleworking. Currently scientists, and statistics safety analysts. about 59 percent of Latinos live in As these new jobs are created, they households that have experienced job may require people to study digital loss or pay cuts due to the pandemic.18 skills. With projections displaying And many more Latinos remain at that by 2030, 30 percent of the US high risk due to the overrepresenta- population will be Latino, making tion of Latinos in industries that are sure Latino workers have the abilities disproportionately impacted by the and training needed to successfully COVID-19 pandemic.19 attain and perform those new jobs is Before the COVID-19 pandemic, vital to the future of the US digital one in four Latinos were vulnerable economy. to losing their jobs to automation. As The US economy needs Latinos the pandemic speeds up the charge to be as strong as possible as they are of activity replacement, professionals the population workforce who is the estimate that within 5 years, 6 percent future of America, contributing $2.6 of the overall US personnel will get trillion annually.21 Latinos account for replaced by means of machines as almost 17 percent of the American half of the country’s workplace jobs workforce and are the fastest-growing

Volume 33 | 2021 73 share of the labor force and will be- states, the largest industries are going come almost 30 percent of the total more and more digital. For example, US population by 2060.22 in Arizona, healthcare, industry, and A recent report done by the As- defense are all adding tech-related pen Institute and UCLA found that positions. At these rapid rates of dig- although the Latino population and italization and the increase of digital workforce are growing, they are at jobs occurring across the country, the most risk of being displaced by the need to make sure Latinos are automation.23 digitally skilled is imperative. If present trends continue, Latino However, the need for digital skills workers are likely to be more affected is not limited to the tech industry. By by the economic transformation of 2030, two-thirds of jobs in the United digitalization since they remain con- States will require at least midlevel centrated in occupations that have less digital skills. Many Latino workers demand for digital skills and perform have “fragmented knowledge”; they more routine tasks. Consequently, are comfortable doing some tech Latinos face one of the highest risks tasks, such as texting a photo, but of displacement by digital technol- not comfortable with others, such as ogy compared to other racial and creating a spreadsheet.26 To ensure ethnic groups in the United States. Latinos are prepared for the future Previous studies estimate that Latinos job market, they need opportunities have a potential displacement rate of to gain digital skills. 25.5 percent with approximately 7.4 These opportunities are rooted million Latino workers nationwide within the educational system and employed in occupations at risk of the accessibility Latinos have to ob- digitalized displacement.24 Compar- tain internship, apprenticeships, and atively, previous studies estimate that career pathways that will allow them non-Hispanic white workers have a to obtain digital skills. significantly lower potential displace- A safety net is needed to protect ment rate of just 22.4 percent.25 the Latino workforce from being dis- Latinos represent trillions of dollars placed by digitalization and to avoid in gross domestic dollars, and where a serious economic consequence Latinos are is where the economy is from happening. Two solutions in going to grow. And various states rep- addressing this issue are 1) growing resent the future of the tech economy, and designing apprenticeships and such as Arizona, New York, Texas, and career pathways programs tailored to California—states that have a large Latinos that provide employable and Latino population. In each of these transferable skills and 2) increasing

74 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Latino representation in higher-level force development and digital training education. programs among institutions, which will provide digital skills training to Policy Solutions over 10,000 Latinos in the next two United States apprenticeship pro- years.29 UnidosUS and Verizon have grams have become very popular in teamed up in funding $1 million for recent years given their success in al- their Latinos @ Work program, which lowing participants in those programs seeks to improve digital literacy rates to become economically mobile. among Latino workers in the United According to the US Department States.30 of Labor, people who complete an As there is a need for more Latinos apprenticeship program can earn an to become incorporated in STEM-re- estimated average annual income of lated apprenticeships and career path- $60,000.27 And while the percentage ways programs, there is also a need to of Latinos who participate in appren- ensure that Latinos are represented ticeships mirror those Latinos who in these areas in higher-level educa- participate in the workforce, there tion. As of 2018, only 6 percent of is a significant lack of Latino repre- Latinos are represented in staff/faculty sentation in STEM apprenticeships in higher-level education.31 While in technology-based careers, such the enrollment and representation as engineering, cybersecurity, and of Latino students in higher-level computer science. Only 8.3 percent of education continue to grow, Latino Latino apprentices are in STEM-relat- representation among faculty does ed apprenticeships while 18.6 percent not. Studies have demonstrated that are in non-STEM apprenticeships.28 students of color have higher levels This significant disparity signals the of success in grades and graduation need for stakeholders, both public retention when engaging with faculty and private, to invest in apprentice- or staff that represent their race or ships and career pathways programs ethnicity—particularly Black students. focused on technology and geared The same impacts were shown when towards Latinos. those students were Latino. Organizations like Hispanic Feder- Latinos are increasing their ination, Google, UnidosUS, and Verizon terest in STEM-related fields and are all investing in the Latino com- jobs that are suited for the digital munity to ensure they are upskilled to economy, thus there needs to be succeed in the digital economy. The a more prominent representation Hispanic Federation and Google are of Latino faculty in these fields to working together to strengthen work- promote motivation and a deeper

Volume 33 | 2021 75 understanding of the compounded no digital skills and 20 percent have struggles that the community faces. limited digital skills. These inequal- A challenge to this is the pay disparity ities are no coincidence; they are the among white faculty versus Latino result of broken policies and a lack faculty; to ensure representation, of investment in a community that pay equity is an obstacle that needs is the main source of energy for the to be addressed when it comes to US economy. By re-shifting priorities people of color representation among and realigning the commitment to a higher-level education faculty. growing community in the United With a majority of jobs requiring States by investing in apprenticeship mid- to high-level digital skills, making programs, career pathways initiatives, sure Latinos are well-equipped to and higher-level education, Latinos perform these jobs is crucial to the will be able to continue contributing success of their economic well-being their heavier lift to the economy. It is and preparation for the inevitable imperative on us to ensure we create digital economy. With support from an inclusive economy in order to apprenticeships and career pathways create a stronger society for the future. programs, alongside the constant necessity of making sure there is Lati- Endnotes no representation in higher-level education, Latinos can be set up for 1 Nick Gonzales et al., “Latino Workers and Digitalization: An Analysis and Policy a successful trajectory when being Roadmap to Building an Inclusive 21st met by the needs and demands of a Century Digital Economy,” UCLA Latino digital economy. Policy & Politics Initiative, 29 September 2020, https://latino.ucla.edu/research/ Conclusion latino-workers-and-digitalization/. Currently Latinos are suffering from 2 Eliza Moreno, “Millions of Latinos at Risk of Job Displacement by Automation,” 30 Septem- the repercussions of a global pan- ber 2020, https://phys.org/news/2020-09-mil- demic. Latinos have experienced lions-latinos-job-displacement-automation. an all-time high of 18.5 percent in html. unemployment. One of six Latinos, 3 “What is digitalization?” Innolytics Innovation, approximately 56 percent, have ex- 29 June 2020, https://innolytics-innovation. perienced a job loss during the year com/what-is-digitalization/. 4 Drew DeSilver, “10 Facts about American the pandemic has taken a toll on the Workers,” Pew Research Center, 29 August country, compared to only 43 percent 2019, accessed 27 July 2020, https://www. of the others in the United States stat- pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/29/ ing the same.32 Out of the 18 percent facts-about-american-workers/. of Latino workers, 35 percent have 5 “26.8 Million Hispanics or Latinos in the U.S.

76 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Labor Force in 2016,” US Bureau of Labor tion Hit Hardest by COVID-19 Job Losses,” Statistics, 25 September 2017, https://www.bls. Pew Research Center, 9 June 2020, https:// gov/opub/ted/2017/26-point-8-million-hispan- www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/09/ ics-or-latinos-in-the-u-s-labor-force-in-2016. hispanic-women-immigrants-young-adults- htm?view_full. those-with-less-education-hit-hardest-by- 6 “Civilian Labor Force, by Age, Sex, Race, and covid-19-job-losses/. Ethnicity,” The Economics Daily, U.S. Bureau 15 “The Future of the Latinx Workforce of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Is Digital,” UnidosUS, 30 August 2019, Statistics, September 1, 2020. https://www.bls. https://blog.unidosus.org/2019/08/30/ gov/emp/tables/civilian-labor-force-summary. the-future-of-the-latinx-workforce-is-digital/. htm. 16 Mark Muro, Alan Berube, and Jacob Whiton, 7 James Manyika et al., “Digital America: A Tale “Black and Hispanic Underrepresentation of the Haves and Have-Mores,” McKinsey in Tech: It’s Time to Change the Equation,” Global Institute, McKinsey & Company, 1 Brookings, 28 March 2018, https://www. December 2015, https://www.mckinsey.com/ brookings.edu/research/black-and-hispanic- industries/technology-media-and-telecommu- underrepresentation-in-tech-its-time-to- nications/our-insights/digital-america-a-tale-of- change-the-equation/. the-haves-and-have-mores. 17 Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, “The New 8 DeSilver, “10 Facts about American Workers.” Landscape of Digital Literacy,” National 9 Michael Spence, “Labor’s Digital Dis- Skills Coalition, 20 May 2020, accessed placement,” Council on Foreign Relations, 19 January 2021, https://www.national- 22 May 2014, https://www.cfr.org/blog/ skillscoalition.org/resource/publications/ labors-digital-displacement. the-new-landscape-of-digital-literacy/. 10 Kathleen Stansberry, Janna Anderson, and Lee 18 Jens Manuel Krogstad and Mark Hugo Lopez, Rainie, “Leading Concerns about the Future “Coronavirus Economic Downturn Has of Digital Life,” Pew Research Center, 28 Hit Latinos Especially Hard,” Pew Research October 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/ Center Hispanic Trends Project, 4 August internet/2019/10/28/5-leading-concerns-about- 2020, https://www.pewresearch.org/hispan- the-future-of-digital-life/. ic/2020/08/04/coronavirus-economic-down- 11 Ayobami Olugbemiga, “New NSC Analysis turn-has-hit-latinos-especially-hard/. Finds Significant Digital Skills Gaps for 19 Ingrid Millán et al., “US Hispanic and Latino Workers Across Industries, With Workers of Lives and Livelihoods in the Recovery from Color Most Likely to Have Limited or No COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, 2 Digital Skills,” National Skills Coalition, 21 September 2020, https://www.mckinsey. April 2020, https://www.nationalskillscoalition. com/industries/public-and-social-sector/ org/news/press-releases/new-nsc-analysis- our-insights/us-hispanic-and-latino-lives-and- finds-significant-digital-skills-gaps-for-workers- livelihoods-in-the-recovery-from-covid-19#. across-industries-with-workers-of-color-most- 20 “The Future of Jobs Report 2020,” likely-to-have-limited-or-no-digital-skills-2/. World Economic Forum, 20 October 12 Olugbemiga, “New NSC Analysis.” 2020, https://www.weforum.org/reports/ 13 Gonzales et al., “Latino Workers and the-future-of-jobs-report-2020. Digitalization.” 21 “2020 LDC U.S. Latino GDP Report,” Latino 14 Rakesh Kochhar, “Hispanic Women, Immi- Donor Collaborative, 24 September 2020, grants, Young Adults, Those with Less Educa- https://www.latinodonorcollaborative.org/origi-

Volume 33 | 2021 77 nal-research/2020-ldc-u-s-latino-gdp-report. Center for Education Statistics, 2020, accessed 22 William H. Frey, “The US Will Become 12 March 2021, https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/ ‘Minority White’ in 2045, Census Projects,” display.asp?id=61. Brookings, 14 March 2018, https://www. 32 Krogstad and Lopez, “Coronavirus Economic brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/14/ Downturn.” the-us-will-become-minority-white-in-2045- census-projects/. 23 Gonzales et al., “Latino Workers and Digitalization.” 24 Susan Lund et al., “The Future of Work in America: People and Places, Today and Tomor- row,” McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company, 11 July 2019, https://www.mckinsey. com/featured-insights/future-of-work/the- future-of-work-in-america-people-and-places- today-and-tomorrow. 25 Kelemwork Cook et al., “The Future of Work in Black America,” McKinsey & Company, 4 October 2019, https://www.mckinsey. com/featured-insights/future-of-work/ the-future-of-work-in-black-america. 26 Bergson-Shilcock, “Applying a Racial Equity Lens to Digital Literacy.” 27 Gloria G. Guzman, “Household Income: 2016,” US Census Bureau, September 2017, https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/ library/publications/2017/acs/acsbr16-02.pdf. 28 Daniel Kuehn, Ian Hecker, and Alphonse Simon, “Registered Apprenticeship in Science and Engineering,” Urban Institute, May 2019, https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/ publication/100390/registered_apprentice- ship_in_science_and_engineering.pdf. 29 “Google Says ¡Presente!” Hispanic Federa- tion, 30 October 2019, accessed 12 March 2021, https://hispanicfederation.org/media/ pinata/29Oct2019/google_says_presente/. 30 “UnidosUS and Verizon Announce $1 Million Grant Funding for Improving Digital Literacy Among Latinos,” UnidosUS, 30 October 2019, https://www.unidosus.org/about-us/media/ press/releases/103119-UnidosUS-Verizon-An- nounce-1M-Grant-Digital-Literacy. 31 “Race/Ethnicity of College Faculty,” National

78 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Research Queremos Transformar Comunidades: Incorporating Civic Engagement as an Equity Strategy in Promotor-Led COVID-19 Response Efforts in Latinx Communities

Gloria Itzel Montiel, PhD; Kyle J. Moon; Patricia J. Cantero, PhD; Laura Pantoja; Hilda M. Ortiz; Sarai Arpero; Adela Montanez; and Saira Nawaz, PhD, MPH

Gloria Itzel Montiel currently Patricia J. Cantero earned serves as Latino Health Access’ her doctoral degree from the Consulting Director of Strategy University of Southern California and Sustainability and as a in preventive medicine. She research scientist at the AltaMed serves as Latino Health Access’ Institute for Health Equity. She Director of Evaluation and has obtained her bachelor’s and 28 years of experience working in master’s degrees from Harvard health education and prevention University and her PhD from the research projects among Latinos in Claremont Graduate University. Southern California. Kyle J. Moon is a research Laura Pantoja is the Civic associate at the Center for Engagement and Advocacy Health Outcomes and Policy Promotora Coordinator at Latino Evaluation Studies at the Ohio Health Access, where she organizes State University College of Public community-led campaigns in Health. He is currently a student at defense of tenant rights, housing, the University of Notre Dame. and community lands.

Volume 33 | 2021 79 Hilda M. Ortiz is Latino Health and led research design for more Access’ Policy Coordinator, working than 16 government contracts. alongside community residents to design community-driven policy Abstract advocacy campaigns to address Health inequities have long been entrenched in social determinants of health communities of color, but the disproportionate through policy, systems, and impact of COVID-19 has brought renewed environmental change. attention to the role of social determinants of health on disease vulnerability. Emerging re- Sarai Arpero has been a Promotora search often fails to consider the importance of civic engagement in response efforts. This at Latino Health Access for 11 study presents a promotor-led intervention years, currently serving as Lead in Latinx communities of southern California Promotora, overseeing housing that (1) elucidates the ways in which COVID-19 advocacy. She has conducted vulnerabilities are associated with the ability to leadership development trainings participate in the political process, (2) presents innovative mechanisms of civic engagement for community members and for citizens and non-citizens alike, and (3) in- organizational partners in various forms future efforts to rebuild with resilience communities. and equity.

Adela Montanez has been a Introduction Latino Health Access Promotora In the United States, working-class since 1996. She currently serves as Latinx communities are among the coordinator for various community most impacted by COVID-19 infec- 1,2 education and advocacy campaigns. tions and deaths. Emerging research and frameworks analyze the role of Dr. Saira Nawaz is a research social determinants of health (SDoH) evaluator at Ohio State University, on disease vulnerabilityand likelihood of survival.3,4,5 Such research has pri- where she leads several community- marily focused on healthcare access, informed projects in reproductive economic stability, food insecurity, health, healthcare referral models and housing as both risk factors and for social needs, and global health negative outcomes of the pandem- security. Over the last decade, she ic.6,7,8 Yet, few of these discussions link has developed and implemented how systemic racism and exclusion over 15 mixed method evaluations left communities of color without the necessary infrastructure to respond

80 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy to COVID-19 and the conditions recovery. It also demonstrates the that have created increased risk in ways in which promotores activate and these communities.9,10,11 Furthermore, sustain such engagement among his- research has not previously examined torically marginalized communities. how civic engagement (or the lack Therefore, the purpose of this study thereof), as part of the SDoH com- is to (1) shed light on the ways in munity and social context domain, which civic engagement, as a SDoH, affects COVID-19 vulnerabilities or impacts COVID-19 vulnerabilities; resulting social needs. On the other (2) contribute to the empirical knowl- hand, there is also a gap in research edge of community-led pandemic on ways to leverage civic engagement response efforts, rooted in equity and for an equitable COVID-19 response political participation; and (3) better and as a foundational practice for understand the mechanisms by which building community resilience in promotores champion and create the recovery process. mechanisms for civic participation For nearly three decades, Latino as a critical element of the COVID-19 Health Access (LHA) has engaged response. This article presents a story promotores de salud, community of community resilience, fueled by health workers (CHWs), to work at Latinx communities’ commitment the intersection of health services, to center response efforts around the community capacity-building, and experiences of those most affected community mobilization and advo- by the pandemic. Lessons from this cacy as a strategy to advance health study can also provide a blueprint equity.12 CHWs have been shown to for recovery efforts in communities be critical assets to community-based of color. Ultimately, rebuilding with organizations, driving progress in equity requires addressing the root health promotion and advocating causes that gave way to the pandemic’s for necessary change, as has been the devastation in these communities. case with LHA. During COVID-19, LHA has implemented a commu- Literature Review nity-engaged response in the most Voting rates have historically been impacted areas of Orange County, lower among the Latinx communi- California, in partnership with the ty, compared to other racial/ethnic local healthcare agency.13 This article groups, but such measures reflect provides an empirical example of how structural inequities, including but LHA integrates civic engagement as a not limited to restrictive naturalization tool for equity in COVID-19 response processes and voter suppression. As efforts and in preparing for long-term such, there is a need to broaden or

Volume 33 | 2021 81 re-frame how the Latinx community promotores have been on the frontlines can participate in the political proof responding to disease outbreaks, cess through civic engagement that epidemics, and disaster relief, and encompasses all the ways in which experts have proposed expanding the immigrants express their interests or infrastructure of promotores in the exert their power. Incorporating this United States to respond to COVID- new definition, evidence shows rela- 19.26,27,28,29 Current investments in tively high engagement among Latinx promotor activities for COVID-19, communities in religious groups, however, focus on addressing social community-based organizations, vol- needs alone, providing immediate unteering, public demonstrations, relief but do not addressing the SDoH and school-based associations.14,15 that require changes in systems and Such involvement is driven by critical policies. reflections of structural inequality and lived experiences of discrimination Conceptual Framework For and exclusion, motivating efforts to Lha’s Approach To Covid-19 improve the welfare of their commu- Response nities, increase representation, and LHA promotores work within a frame- mitigate future instances of discrim- work that aligns with what Matthew ination.16,17 Barriers to engagement and colleagues later coined the Mul- include, most prominently, competing tidimensional Promotores/Community family and job responsibilities, fear Health Worker Model. The model related to documentation status, and highlights the foundational concept limited information being offered in of promotores who not only serve as Spanish.18 educators and service facilitators but Because promotores come from the also as agents of change.30,31 This is same communities they serve, they are especially important to build equity uniquely positioned to reach and acti- and address SDoH within communi- vate the most marginalized members ties that are disenfranchised or have of society.19,20 Yet, historically, the roles been historically excluded from deci- of promotores within health systems sion making and policymaking and, have been confined to direct services thereby, experience health and social that support health prevention, health disparities.32 promotion, and healthcare access, This model was at the foundation missing an opportunity to leverage of LHA’s strategy for COVID-19 re- their unique position to mobilize sponse (see Figure 1). First, promotores communities to address SDoH at had to ensure continuity and enhance- the systems level. 21,22,23,24,25 Globally, ments of direct services to meet the

82 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Figure 1. LHA Model for Integrating Civic Engagement in COVID-19 Response. rising health and social needs in their ty-building for community members. communities as COVID-19 cases and Nevertheless, because activating civic deaths began to climb. Given that participation is at the core of LHA’s these disparities were affecting the model, promotores ensured that the poorest neighborhoods in Orange very communities disproportionately County, promotores also worked to affected by COVID-19 were priori- mobilize community residents to advo- tized and offered a seat at the table to cate for policies that address systemic strategize on how to respond.33 change, mitigating the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. Description Of Lha’s Covid-19 Although advocacy has been part of Response the work of LHA promotores, stay- From March through June of 2020, at-home orders and the transition to LHA implemented Phase I of its virtual platforms created a new context COVID-19 response program, which and new needs for skills and capaci- included making outbound phone

Volume 33 | 2021 83 calls with the purpose of conducting dents organized, problem-solved, wellness checks with community and engaged in community build- members, collecting data to under- ing. Promotores also conducted stand the emerging needs of the com- trainings to strengthen leadership munity, disseminating COVID-19 and advocacy skills of community prevention information, deploy- members, using the Desempacando ing essential services in response Habilidades curriculum. Promotores to those needs, and designing and co-developed the training program implementing advocacy campaigns with LHA program coordinators. to protect the rights of communi- Training focuses on assisting party members being affected by the ticipants in building advocacy health, economic, and social impact skills and developing critical con- of the pandemic. Twenty-four LHA sciousness about the relationship promotores contacted participants between health disparities, SDoH, belonging to two distinct groups: and the role of civic engagement (1) 393 Orange County Latinx vot- in creating a healthier and more ers newly identified for outreach equitable community. Triangulating through Political Data Inc. (PDI) community feedback and emerging during LHA’s non-partisan voter data trends, promotores prioritized mobilization campaign for the pri- the community mobilization strat- mary election, and (2) 1,861 existing egy of LHA’s COVID-19 Phase I participants of LHA’s programs, who response around (1) sustaining orga- were mostly non-voters. At the point nizing spaces and networks through of contact, promotores reviewed a virtual settings; (2) housing advocacy; script that included questions relat- (3) Census outreach and engage- ed to understanding of COVID-19 ment; (4) voter mobilization; and (5) symptoms, ability to self-isolate, building the infrastructure for Phase non-medical health-related social II of the response, which included needs, and need for additional intensive on-the-ground outreach resources. and increasing testing in the most During this same time period, impacted zip codes. Promotores LHA also created a blueprint for tabulated their voter engagement policy and systems change strategies and Census efforts, detailing the to be implemented in tandem with attempted number of individuals and its direct service modifications or the number of individuals reached, enhancements. Prior to COVID-19, to evaluate successes related to policy promotores hosted cafecitos, intimate advocacy, capacity building, and community gatherings where resi- mobilization.

84 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Study Methods of LHA’s program participants are foreign-born, earn less than $30,000 Study Design annually, and are monolingual Span- This study adopts a sequential ex- ish speakers—all of which present planatory mixed-methods approach, structural barriers to participation in in which quantitative data were the political process. The focus groups collected and analyzed, followed were conducted following an analysis by qualitative data capture with in- of the quantitative data and operated terviews and focus groups.34 Such within a transformative paradigm an approach has the advantage of to (1) examine assumptions about contextualizing and explaining quan- power, social justice, and cultural titative findings, all while informing complexity; and (2) illuminate the policy and program development in social realities of the communities an actionable manner.35 Quantitative this research intends to impact.36 data provide insights on the social needs and burdens for non-voters Study Site (vs. voters), who require additional Latino Health Access is a promo- support to participate in the civic tor-driven community-based orga- process through advocacy. The term nization located in Orange County, non-voter refers to individuals who California, primarily serving work- have not cast a vote in previous elec- ing-class Latinx immigrant commu- tions. It is used intentionally because nities. Its mission is to “partner with LHA does not collect information on communities to bring health, equity, immigration status or eligibility for and sustainable change through edu- voter registration, but the majority cation, services, consciousness-raising,

Table 1

Characteristics Voters Non-Voters P-Value Food Insecure 9.7% (n=393) 19.8% (n=1861) <0.001*** Uninsured 9.8% (n=326) 37.5% (n=1657) <0.001*** No Medical Care 25.5% (n=94) 26.5% (n=1088) 0.94 Work Hours Reduced 38.3% (n=350) 64.1% (n=1765) <0.001*** No Space to Isolate in the Home 14.0% (n=314) 59.3% (n=1667) <0.001*** Financially Unstable 11.1% (n=360) 29.5% (n=1745) <0.001*** Housing Insecure 18.6% (n=366) 67.8% (n=1757) <0.001*** Limited Knowledge About 5.8% (n=363) 20.0% (n=1709) <0.001*** COVID-19 Symptomatology

Table 1. Effect of Enfranchisement on Social Needs

Volume 33 | 2021 85 and civic participation.”37 Embedded Quantitative Data Collection in its mission is an equitable rela- and Analysis tionship with communities, whereby During one-on-one sessions with par- participants are not seen as clients or ticipants, data were captured by each patients but as partners in creating and promotor in a Microsoft Excel spread- sustaining health. Latinx immigrant sheet, using a 12-character unique communities in Orange County have identifier. Analyses were conducted to been devastated by COVID-19 due compare social needs between voters to entrenched social inequities. As of (PDI participants) and non-voters January 30, 2021, there were 229,757 (LHA participants) over the course of cumulative COVID-19 cases and the COVID-19 pandemic. The fol- 2,975 deaths in Orange County, Cal- lowing social needs were considered: ifornia.38 Latinx individuals make up food insecurity (dichotomous: yes/ 44 percent of cases and 38 percent of no), financial instability (measured deaths, despite being only 35 percent as inability to pay rent), housing in- of the county’s population.39 stability (measured in alignment with

Figure 2. Comparison of Voter Status and served in June for voters but not non-voters. Social Needs Over Time. Latinx non-vot- Error bars represent 95 percent confidence ers, compared to Latinx voters, experience intervals. All comparisons are significant at significantly higher rates of uninsurance the P<0.001 level. (A), housing instability (B), and financial instability (C). A decline in social needs is ob-

86 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy the Healthy People 2020 definition promotoras who specialize in civic of meeting one or both conditions: engagement and advocacy and the inability to pay rent, overcrowding), organization’s policy analyst in January health insurance coverage (dichoto- 2021. Interviews and the focus group mous: yes/no), medical care (dichoto- were conducted in Spanish. mous: yes/no), work hours reduced or Interviews have been used as a temporarily laid off (dichotomous: yes/ method of collecting data and mak- no), and knowledge of how to respond ing meaning of processes and ex- if COVID-19 symptoms present in the periences in healthcare and public household (dichotomous: yes/no).40 health.42 For this study, interviews Analyses were conducted to assess were used to better understand the (1) the effect of voter status on social role of promotores in creating equity needs and (2) changes in the effects within the COVID-19 response and of voter status on social needs from understanding promotores’ operation- March to June 2020. Pearson’s χ2 test alization of equity within their work. of independence was employed to The focus group method aligns with identify statistically significant differ- LHA’s ongoing practice of reflexive ences in demographic characteristics learning and unlearning, in which and social needs. Yates’s continuity all staff collectively “re-think and correction was applied when any re-name [their] practices, and re- cell in the contingency table had a tell [their] stories and aspirations” frequency < 10. Pearson’s χ2 test was with the purpose of creating meaning also used to compare the effects of and elevating community practices, voter status on social needs at the which are often excluded from the beginning of the pandemic (March dominant discourse and processes 2020) to most recent data when re- of creating knowledge.43 In the fo- lief policies came into effect (June cus group, promotoras reflected on 2020). Significance was established at their processes and mechanisms for α=0.05. All analyses were performed the civic engagement of participants using R Statistical Software.41 based on the equity practices they outlined, such as navigating the digital Qualitative Data Collection divide with technical support and and Analysis training, hosting civic engagement Qualitative data were collected via skill-building workshops, and rewriting semi-structured interviews conducted dominant narratives of power. by telephone with three promotoras Interview data underwent thematic in December of 2020 and a one- analysis using a two-step process that hour virtual focus group with three incorporated emergent coding and a

Volume 33 | 2021 87 priori codes based on the conceptual annually vs. 11.8 percent of PDI framework.44,45,46 Data were analyzed voters, P<0.001) but not by ethnicity in Spanish and organized into themes. (P=0.053). Results from quantitative data analyses and the interview themes were shared Effects of Enfranchisement with promotoras in the focus group Over Time to engage them in interpretation of To assess the effect of voter status results within the Multidimensional on social needs, comparisons were Promotores/Community Health Work- made between voters in the PDI er Model.47 Final themes were then database and LHA participants. translated into English and organized Results are shown in Table 1. Initial in Microsoft Word tables to prepare analysis showed non-voters experi- for integration in the discussion. Rep- enced significantly greater social resentative quotes from the themes vulnerabilities across all catego- discussed were extracted and translat- ries (P<0.001), with the exception ed for inclusion in the manuscript. of not having medical care (25.5 percent among voters vs. 26.5 per- Results cent among non-voters, P=0.94). Notably, non-voters, compared to Demographic Analysis voters, experienced heightened vul- A majority of LHA participants are nerabilities that negatively influence female (72.4 percent), Latinx (98.2 ability to respond to COVID-19, percent), foreign-born (95.4 percent), including limited space to isolate aged 18–54 (48.7 percent), monolin- in the home (59.3 percent vs. 14.0 gual Spanish speakers (89.8 percent), percent, P<0.001) and limited and earn less than $30,000 annually knowledge about how to respond (84.6 percent). Demographic data to a COVID-19 outbreak in the from the PDI database show that household (20.0 percent vs. 5.8 the majority of voters are female percent, P<0.001). (52.5 percent), Latinx (97.5 percent), Figure 2 shows that non-voters born in the United States (71.2 per- were the first to experience the social cent), aged 18–54 (68.9 percent), impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. and earn $50,000–100,000 annually As early as March 2020, non-voters, (70.1 percent). Groups differ signifi- compared to voters, experienced cantly by sex (P<0.001), country significantly higher rates of uninsur- of birth (P<0.001), age (P<0.001), ance (19.2 percent vs. 2.2 percent, and income (96.7 percent of LHA P=0.038), financial instability (21.9 participants earn less than $50,000 percent vs. 6.5 percent, P=0.040),

88 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy and housing instability (28.1 percent Linking Social Need to Social vs. 6.5 percent, P=0.022). While Determinants of Health and the voter population also saw an Systemic Oppression increase in related social needs, One of the foundational strategies such as financial and housing in- to mobilize participants is building stability, the impact was less severe consciousness about the linkage be- across every month, compared to tween social needs, lack of services, the non-voter population. By June, and how systemic oppression works non-voters, compared to voters, ex- to perpetuate these disparities. Promo- perienced significantly elevated tores view every service delivered as an rates of uninsurance (42.3 percent opportunity to build and activate this vs. 10.2 percent, P<0.001), housing awareness, which is fortified through instability (79.8 percent vs. 26.2 the leadership and skills development percent, P<0.001), and financial workshops they facilitate. One of instability (33.5 percent vs. 15.3 LHA’s promotora coordinator said: percent, P=0.0071). Queremos transformar comunidades (we want to transform Thematic Analysis communities). Transformation Trends in social needs beginning in begins when participants be- March 2020 highlighted the lack of gin to understand the social infrastructure for testing, access to determinants of health, how care, and delivery of social services the conditions in the Zip Code in Orange County. Advocacy was where you live or where you were needed to increase direct prevention born determine your quality of and mitigate the health and socio- life and lifespan. That’s what economic impact of COVID-19 on sparks the beginning of change. communities that already experienced For promotores, it is crucial that disproportionate economic hardship. discussions of SDoH go beyond Promotores’ local policy advocacy a recognition of social needs and included several facets (see Table 2). barriers to accessing care. For The qualitative component of this them, approaches that, for exam- study sought to better understand the ple, merely provide bus passes to mechanisms and processes by which address lack of accessible transpor- promotores effectively mobilized tation or provide access to meals community members to be civically to address food insecurity at the active, despite the new challenges community level are insufficient. that COVID-19 brought to organizing Promotores prioritize approaches and advocacy. that address the systemic conditions

Volume 33 | 2021 89 that determine people’s lifespan coordination of food delivery, and and quality of life. They also call step-by-step coaching for community for an open discussion of the history members to access local rental relief. of discriminatory policies and for In so doing, promotores helped partic- a community-based participatory ipants find some stability that enabled approach to investigating how they them to advocate for changes at the impact the neighborhoods where systems or community level. However, participants live. in order to mobilize a community that During COVID-19, these conver- is largely disenfranchised, promotores sations happened through one-on-one must be intentional in re-framing support sessions, information forums, civic participation and creating the and group organizing meetings. Pro- opportunities by which community motoras recounted how COVID-19 members can take action. made it clear for participants where systems failed to be equitable and Re-framing Civic Participation provided an urgency by which to act. All promotoras spoke about the fear One of LHA’s promotoras mentioned: that took hold of the predominantly Our job is to help people make immigrant communities they served the connection that it’s not a during the pandemic. Already, these coincidence that people have communities lived on the margins two or three jobs, that wages due to societal neglect, exacerbat- are low, that housing is not just, ed by the “public charge” rule that and we have to weave those was announced during this time, conversations to uncover the root restrictions in immigration policy, causes with our participants. and criminalizing rhetoric. An LHA Yet, in these conversations about promotora who leads immigration community activation, promotoras advocacy campaigns stated: also understand the need to address Over the last four years, our the immediate needs that participants people have been hurt by lan- have, especially in the rise of the guage, labeled as criminals, as pandemic (shown in Table 1 and Fig- people who are worthless. Part ure 2). They also mobilize resources of our work has to be to reframe within LHA and connections with that: to help people see that they community partners to meet the needs have inherent value, that their of participants. They accomplished culture is a strength, and that this through advocacy that expanded they belong at the table where rental assistance programs at the local decisions are made. level to undocumented immigrants, Promotores open pathways to

90 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy civic participation by building the opportunity to elect these individuals capacity of community members due to an undocumented immigration to engage with systems and simul- status, promotores ensure that this taneously holding systems and same population continues to have policymakers accountable for lis- opportunities to engage with those tening to and incorporating the who will be making critical decisions voices of all community members, that affect the community’s resources regardless of citizenship. One of and opportunities. LHA’s lead promotoras said: During COVID-19, LHA also One thing we do in our Commu- invited participants to be engaged nity Engagement and Advocacy in other ways to respond to the crisis Program is dismantle the idea with a view towards recovery. For that a person seated in a position example, it was primarily undocu- of power is powerful on their mented immigrants who engaged own. We foster the idea that they in collecting signatures from voters are there to serve the people and to place a rent control measure on their responsibility is to ensure the ballot. With the assistance of our community has a better the civic engagement promotoras, quality of life, and it becomes residents designed a drive-through the community’s responsibility signature collection campaign. to hold them accountable. When Residents, including working-class people power is in motion, there’s immigrants, have also been trained nothing that can stop it. as “housing counselors” to facilitate A key strategy to advance policy “Know Your Rights” workshops, dis- advocacy during the pandemic was seminate housing policy updates, to host meetings with local elected and provide one-on-one eviction pre- officials and those in city government. vention support to other community Promotores facilitated roundtables with members. Residents have led popular Santa Ana and Anaheim city council education prevention campaigns and members, a California senator, and have assisted in coordinating mobile a congressman, where community testing sites in these neighborhoods. members voiced their concerns about During a time when so much has housing, job loss during the pandemic, been lost in the working class Latinx and access to healthcare. It was also communities, promotores have also promotores who organized translation activated community members to for these roundtables and other logis- lead acts of remembrance, solidarity, tics for these meetings. While serving and hope through activities, such as a population that may not have the a mobile Día de los Muertos altar

Volume 33 | 2021 91 float that visited highly impacted future for their communities. The neighborhoods. These new opportu- concept of promotores as companions nities for community members to be to community members in health engaged expand the notions of civic improvement is foundational, but engagement and present opportunities LHA promotores call for an extension for individuals who are traditionally of this process to include support excluded from political participation along the process of civic engagement to lead initiatives in policy advocacy, to advance health equity and social community building, and community justice.49 healing. Discussion And Promotores as “Acompañantes” Recommendations In framing their role in helping com- Decades of disinvestment and restric- munity residents move along a “con- tive immigration policies, both of tinuum of participation,” promotores which are rooted in structural racism refer to themselves as “acompañantes” and nativism, have created disparate (companions) through the entire prosocial conditions for Latinx commu- cess of community transformation.48 nities in the United States with lim- One of the lead promotoras recalled ited resources and opportunities.50 walking with a participant in one of Exclusion of these communities the midsummer protests following from decision making has also been George Floyd’s murder: a risk factor for SDoH.51 Our study At the end of the protest, the has shown how LHA’s approach to participant said “Thank you” to civic engagement is necessary at me for walking with her because, this juncture, as COVID-19 contin- for the first time, she experienced ues to exacerbate the social needs what it was like to be in a place among individuals who are typically where people call for change excluded from the political process with a single, united voice. (non-voters). By operationalizing a She used this image as an example broad definition of civic engagement, of the role of the promotor, where they LHA promotores have activated and are not there to simply train partic- maintained the mobilization of ipants in the art of public speaking, Latinx communities to achieve sever- facilitate meetings, or simply mobi- al policy wins that are intended to root lize. Rather, they are companions to out the systemic barriers to health community members in the process equity. Strategies discussed in this ar- of building health for themselves and ticle, including the Promotor model, working collectively towards a better civic engagement and community

92 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Table 2

Issue Area Capacity Building and Mobilization Community Policy Wins

Housing Advocacy • Tutorials for joining virtual city • Santa Ana City Manager issues rent council meetings to advocate for moratorium via executive order enhanced local rent moratorium from March 17–May 31, 2020 • Creation of a resident-led Housing • City of Santa Ana allocates $1.6 Policy Monitoring Committee with million from CARES Act funding to 7 members, 4 of which are renters direct rent relief (March 19, 2020) • One-on-one meetings with city • Santa Ana City Manager extends council members and city staff moratorium until June 30 (May • Participants sent 130 letters to the 22, 2020) and then again until Santa Ana City Council requesting September 30 (July 24, 2020) a 6-month extension of rent • Santa Ana City Manager issues moratorium executive order to halt rent • Distributed templates of letters to increases while CA Governor’s be sent to landlords to qualify for Executive order (N-28-20) is in emergency rental assistance place (April 7, 2020) • Promotor-led technical • City of Anaheim issues an support call to Anaheim city emergency eviction moratorium councilmember around housing (March 24, 2020) movement-building • The City of Anaheim rolls out $3M • Training of 24 new community plan for community economic housing counselors to assist renters recovery, prioritizing rental in eviction frontline response and assistance for tenants experiencing to understand their rights under financial hardship due to COVID-19 new local policies

Census Outreach • From March–October 2020, • Accomplishing a 70.5% Census promotores made attempts response rate in Santa Ana, which to contact 63,460 individuals, was higher than the 2010 response reaching 44,714 (70%) rate (67.7%) • Outreach conducted via one-on- ones, presentations, telephone calls, text messages, social networking, caravans, and tabling • Creative strategies implemented included an “Infomovil” with combined COVID-19 prevention and Census messaging, delivered via loudspeaker attached to LHA van and driving into hard-to-count communities

Table 2. Promotor-Led Mobilization Efforts and Community Policy Wins by Issue Area

Volume 33 | 2021 93 Voter Mobilization • Educational forums to residents to • Increase in the number of voters explain what was on the ballot, that intended to vote from 75% the new election process for city (n=965) in the 2020 primary council/mayor, and voting rights election to 96% (n=3,804) in the and options during COVID 2020 general election • Mobilization by promotores to • From October 2020 to the 2020 infrequent voters in low-turnout general election, attempts were precincts with 1-2 contacts in made to 10,729 individuals, the 2020 primary and general reaching 3,390 (32%) elections (via text messaging and telephone calls) • Phone banking by non-voter volunteers to Get Out the Vote, trained by promotores • Hiring of community members as Get Out the Vote canvassers, identified and trained by promotores • Organized virtual candidate forums

COVID-19 Equity • Promotores advocate internally • LHA maintains and expands Response at LHA for expansion of community food distribution with promotor- foodbank after administrative organized safety measures that staff suggest closing it down for align with CDC and local health safety reasons guides. • Promotores present stories of • Zip code data were published by community members in the local health care agency countrywide multi-stakeholder in • Local health care agency funds $3M advocacy efforts to release zip code- Latino Health Initiative in most based COVID-19 data to organize impacted zip codes (Phase II of neighborhood-based response LHA’s COVID-19 response) • Promotores represent community in co-designing neighborhood- based response • Promotores identify, train, and refer more than 70 community members to be hired as new promotores to work in neighborhood-based response

Table 2. Continued mobilization, and COVID-19 pan- Invest in understanding the im- demic relief, are a culmination of pact of SDoH and addressing SDoH over 28 years working directly with at the community and systems levels the Latinx community in Santa rather than only on individual-level Ana and Orange County and have outcomes. Currently, most SDoH re- informed the recommendations search has focused on individual-level below. interventions that address immediate

94 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy social needs. Yet, these interventions nicity fail to capture the heterogeneity are insufficient to address the root of the Latinx population in the United causes that have created and perpet- States—namely, the stark contrast uated health disparities. Drawing on between Latinx voters and non-voters ecosocial theory, it has been condi- presented in this study. Voting status tions of social inequality that are the serves as a rough proxy for socioeco- basis of long-standing Latinx health nomic status (SES) and immigration disparities in the context of chronic status, and as such, our findings have disease.52,53 Latinx health disparities critical implications for exploring the have widened over the course of the effects of SDoH on access to care. COVID-19 pandemic, which has For non-voters, rising uninsurance disproportionately impacted commu- rates were accompanied by elevated nities subject to structural violence. rates of job loss or reductions in work Latinx communities account for the hours, once again highlighting the greatest disparities of any other racial pitfalls of coupling health insurance or ethnic group in terms of case, with employment. Uninsured rates hospitalization, and mortality rates.54 continued to climb among non-vot- Such disparities can be explained by ers, while the rates among voters the concentration of Latinxs in the es- increased from March through April sential workforce, such as agriculture, and then sharply declined in June. construction, food service, and food As programs such as the Children’s processing—the same occupational Health Insurance Program (CHIP) sectors with the highest rates of excess and/or Medicaid eligibility expanded mortality due to COVID-19—because for voters, it conceivably could not they do not have the option of working be accessed by non-voters, especially from home and, thus, face heightened given the introduction of the “pub- risk of exposure.55,56 Other structural lic charge” rule guidelines in the vulnerabilities in the Latinx popula- middle of the pandemic.58 This may tion, such as high rates of coexisting have deterred some immigrants from medical conditions, lack of insurance, pursuing testing or assistance despite and multigenerational homes, can being eligible to receive COVID-19 explain COVID-19 disparities.57 All services without penalty. of these issues are systemic issues that The COVID-19 pandemic has go unexamined when the focus of illustrated the importance of efforts SDoH research is on individual-level that enhance civic engagement to outcomes instead of system- or com- combat increasing social needs, munity-level outcomes. inequities, and disempowerment in Furthermore, trends by race/eth- the Latinx community. Through work

Volume 33 | 2021 95 pre-dating COVID-19, LHA gathered participants who are monolin- significant knowledge about such gual Spanish speakers. Linguistic strategies, and the work of promotores challenges could also explain the demonstrates that it is possible to build disparities in knowledge about innovative mechanisms of civic par- COVID-19 symptomatology, ticipation that can be accessible to all considering nearly four times as residents, regardless of citizenship.59 many non-voters responded that Their example calls for a re-envision- they did not know what to do if ing of civic engagement, anchored in COVID-19 symptoms presented health equity. It is especially important in the household as did voters. As that these efforts center around those such, promotores responded by (1) most impacted by the pandemic as involving community members these communities experienced the in the development of effective most inequities prior to its start. messaging about COVID-19 Civic engagement efforts need to symptoms and prevention, (2) be rooted in a frank analysis of the providing templates of letters role of structural racism and other to provide landlords in order to root causes of these inequities and qualify for rental protections, and their impact on health.60 (3) instilling trust in COVID-19 As an example, disparities in testing by directly referring indi- rates of housing instability are viduals and staffing the testing striking, with rates over three sites. These disparities speak to the times as high among non-voters importance of eviction prevention (67.8 percent) as voters (18.6 measures and culturally and lin- percent). While these disparities guistically accessible messaging— may be due, in part, to eligibility both of which were the result criteria for public assistance, the of community mobilization—to federal government, the state address health inequities.61 of California, and the cities of While the pandemic brought Santa Ana and Anaheim imple- additional challenges, qualitative mented protections in the form data sheds light on the possibility to of eviction moratoria, executive mobilize communities around policy orders, and rent moratoria, re- advocacy that directly addresses the spectively, in March 2020. To urgent social needs exacerbated qualify for rental protections, during the pandemic. As future however, tenants were required to directions, it will be necessary to provide letters to their landlord, reach new communities without posing a barrier to many LHA historical experience in organizing

96 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy or advocating and building inroads consider all residents with Individual to civic participation. Furthermore, Taxpayer Identification Numbers given the success of engagement in (ITINs), rather than just those with local city council meetings afforded social security numbers (SSNs). by virtual options, local governments CHWs should be engaged in should institutionalize these mech- vaccine deployment to lend exper- anisms for engagement even after tise in combating issues related to the end of the pandemic. vaccine access. The actions taken by Early findings point to policy promotores illuminate the critical role amendments that could equal- of CHWs in responding swiftly—and ly benefit voters and non-voters. with an orientation towards equity—to Trends in financial instability between communities’ immediate and long- non-voters and voters mirrored unin- term needs via basic services and pol- surance trends, in that rates contin- icy advocacy. This is possible because ued to climb from March through of their presence in the community, June among non-voters, while rates trusted relationships, and local exper- declined from May to June among tise, which lies at the intersection of a voters. These disparities illustrate that multi-dimensional model of commu- the benefits experienced by citizens nity health work. As the United States in terms of public assistance, such plunges forward with vaccination as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and goals, the Biden-Harris administration Economic Security (CARES) Act, has deployed Federal Emergency were not shared with non-voters, as Management Agency (FEMA) to assist non-citizens were not eligible to re- with vaccine distribution.62 Promotores ceive the stimulus checks that were are best positioned to reach impacted disbursed in April 2020 nor Tempo- communities, making it possible for rary Assistance for Needy Families them to address barriers related to the (TANF) or supplemental security vaccine through one-on-one naviga- income (SSI) because of “public tion. Promotores are also positioned charge” rules. Of note, the disparities to inform vaccine strategies at the in financial instability between voters systems level, given their knowledge and non-voters may be even more of the local communities. pronounced in other states, as cash In addition, emerging research benefits are available to non-citizens points to the long-term problems in California who do not qualify for created by the pandemic, with signifi- SSI through the state-funded Disas- cant reductions in the life expectancy ter Relief Assistance for Immigrants in the United States, disproportion- (DRAI). Future relief packages should ately impacting Latinx and Black

Volume 33 | 2021 97 communities.63 Hiring and training shown the benefits of their promotor additional CHWs to implement a model. Furthermore, we felt it was community-engaged approach to imperative to share these results as recovery and rebuilding can present we look to COVID-19 programs in a vigorous economic development other states that do not incorporate a program in communities of color SDoH approach at the systems level. where the pandemic has brought In conclusion, this study sheds light about financial devastation.64 on the need for grassroots community mobilization to address systemic Conclusion barriers to equity. Our findings point Despite the unique perspective this to salient COVID-19 vulnerabilities study offers, there are several lim- associated with the ability to partici- itations. For one, the authors relied pate in the political process. As such, on data that were collected virtually there is a need for future response and by promotores. As such, demograph- recovery efforts to incorporate a broad- ic data were not available for each ened definition of civic engagement encounter, but promotores’ review that extends beyond participation in of the quantitative data confirmed the political process to include all those served through the community activities in which individuals can engagement and advocacy program build community power. Promotores were representative of LHA partici- have been key assets in creating such pants. Second, it is possible that we opportunities for civic engagement have not seen the complete effects of for all community members, regard- various COVID-related relief policies less of citizenship status, mobilizing during the study period. However, communities to advocate for change declines in social needs among voters at the systems level to ameliorate the suggest that the impact of the policies conditions that have ravaged com- were observed as early as June. Third, munities of color over the course of the qualitative data were collected the pandemic. As COVID-19 cases from a seemingly small sample of continue to surge and vaccine ad- promotores (n=5), but they represent ministration lulls in communities those engaged in the organization’s of color, lessons from this study can advocacy programming. While this inform future efforts to respond and is a single-site study with no compar- rebuild with resilience, addressing ison group, LHA has over 28 years the root causes of the pandemic’s of experience working with Latinx devastating impact. communities in southern California, and previous comparison studies have

98 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Endnotes Public Health 36(2015): 375–392. 12 America Bracho et al., Recruiting the Heart, 1 Carlos E. Rodriguez-Diaz et al, “Risk for Training the Brain: The Work of Latino Health COVID-19 infection and death among Latinos Access (Berkeley, California: Hesperian Health in the United States: examining heterogeneity Guides, 2016). in transmission dynamics,” Annals of Epidemi- 13 Leda M. Pérez and Jacqueline Martínez, ology 52 (2020): 46–53. “Community health workers: social justice and 2 John McLaren, Racial Disparity in COVID-19 policy advocates for community health and Deaths: Seeking Economic Roots with well-being,” American Journal of Public Health Census data. No. w27407, National Bureau of 98, 1(2008): 11–14. Economic Research (June 2020). 14 J. Claire Schuch, Ligia M. Vasquez-Huot, and 3 Bo Burström and Wenjing Tao, “Social Wendy Mateo-Pascual, “Understanding Latinx determinants of health and inequalities in civic engagement in a new immigrant gate- COVID-19,” European Journal of Public way,” Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences Health 30, 4(2020): 617–618. 41, 4(2019): 447–463. 4 Rebekah Rollston and Sandro Galea, 15 Laura Wray-Lake and Laura S. Abrams, “COVID-19 and the social determinants of “Pathways to civic engagement among urban health,” American Journal of Health Promotion youth of color,” Monographs of the Society for 34, 6(2020): 687–689. Research in Child Development 85, 2(2020): 5 Michael Menconi, “Want to Survive the 7–154. Coronavirus Pandemic? Invest in the Social 16 Schuch, Vasquez-Huot, and Mateo-Pascual, Determinants of Health,” Voices in Bioethics 6 “Understanding Latinx civic engagement.” (2020). 17 Elan C. Hope, Micere Keels, and Myles I. 6 Elissa M. Abrams and Stanley J. Szefler, Durkee, “Participation in Black Lives Matter “COVID-19 and the impact of social deter- and deferred action for childhood arrivals minants of health,” The Lancet Respiratory among Black and Latino college students,” Medicine 8, 7(2020): 659–661. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 9, 7 Shreela V. Sharma et al., “Social Determinants 3(2016): 203–215 of Health–Related Needs During COVID-19 18 Schuch, Vasquez-Huot, and Mateo-Pascual, Among Low-Income Households With Chil- “Understanding Latinx civic engagement.” dren,” Preventing Chronic Disease 17 (2020). 19 Ann V. Millard et al., “Pilot of a diabetes 8 Sravani Singu et al., “Impact of social determi- primary prevention program in a hard-to-reach, nants of health on the emerging COVID-19 low-income, immigrant Hispanic population,” pandemic in the United States,” Frontiers in Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 13, Public Health 8 (2020): 406. 5(2011): 906–913. 9 Jennifer Abbasi, “Taking a closer look at 20 Rafaela R. Robles and Elizabeth W. Shepard, COVID-19, health inequities, and racism,” “Accessing Hard-to-Reach Populations: the JAMA 324, 5(2020): 427–429. https://jamanet- Illicit Drug Market as a Workplace of the work.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2767948 Outreach Worker in Puerto Rico,” Puerto Rico 10 Delan Devakumar et al., “Racism, the public Health Sciences Journal 23, 3(2010): 217–222. health crisis we can no longer ignore,” The 21 J. Nell Brownstein et al., “Community health Lancet 395, 10242(2020): e112–e113. workers as interventionists in the prevention 11 Heide Castañeda et al., “Immigration as a and control of heart disease and stroke,” social determinant of health,” Annual Review of American Journal of Preventive Medicine 29,

Volume 33 | 2021 99 5(2005): 128–133. 32 Bracho et al., Recruiting the Heart, Training the 22 DeAnne K. Hilfinger Messias et al., “Pro- Brain. motoras de Salud: roles, responsibilities, and 33 Bracho et al., Recruiting the Heart, Training the contributions in a multi-site community-based Brain. randomized controlled trial,” Hispanic Health 34 Nataliya V. Ivankova, John W. Cresswell, and Care International 11, 2(2013): 62–71. Sheldon L. Stick, “Using mixed methods 23 Ann Zuvekas et al., “Impact of community sequential explanatory design: from theory to health workers on access, use of services, and practice,” Field Methods 18, 1(2006): 3–20. patient knowledge and behavior,” The Journal 35 Miriam Stewart et al., “Researching reducing of Ambulatory Care Management 22, 4(1999): health disparities: mixed-methods approaches,” 33–44. Social Science & Medicine 66, 6(2008): 24 Pérez and Martínez, “Community health 1406–1417 workers.” 36 Donna M. Mertens, “Transformative paradigm: 25 Kenneth Maes, “Community health workers mixed methods and social justice,” Journal of and social change: an introduction,” Annals of Mixed Methods Research 1, 3(2007): 212–225. Anthropological Practice 39, 1(2015): 1–15. 37 “Mission Statement,” Latino Health Access, 26 Karla Fredricks et al., “Community health accessed 27 January 2021, https://www. workers and disasters: lessons learned from the latinohealthaccess.org/mission-statement/. 2015 earthquake in Nepal,” Prehospital and 38 “COVID-19 Case Counts and Testing Disaster Medicine 32, 6(2017): 604–609. Figures,” Orange County Health Care Agency, 27 João Nunes, “The everyday political economy last modified 6 April 2021, accessed 30 January of health: community health workers and the 2021 https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/ response to the 2015 Zika outbreak in Brazil,” coronavirus-in-oc. Review of International Political Economy 27, 39 COVID-19 Case Counts and Testing Figures,” 1(2020): 146–166. Orange County Health Care Agency. 28 Henry B. Perry et al., “Community health 40 “Housing Instability,” US Department of worker programmes after the 2013–2016 Health and Human Services: Office of Disease Ebola outbreak,” Bulletin of the World Health Prevention and Health Promotion, last modi- Organization 94, 7(2016): 551–553. fied 8 October 2020, https://www.healthypeo- 29 Gregg Gonsalves and Amy Kapczynski, “The ple.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-de- new politics of care,” Boston Review, 27 April terminants-health/interventions-resources/ 2020, http://bostonreview.net/politics/gregg- housing-instability. gonsalves-amy-kapczynski-new-politics-care. 41 R Core Team, R: A language and environment 30 Rebecca A. Matthew et al., “Advocates for for statistical computing, R Foundation for community health and social justice: A case Statistical Computing (2019). example of a multisystemic promotores 42 Barbara DiCicco‐Bloom and Benjamin F. organization in South Carolina,” Journal of Crabtree, “The qualitative research Community Practice 25, 3-4(2017): 344–364. Interview,” Medical Education 40, 4(2006): 31 Uta Lehmann and David Sanders, Community 314–321. health workers: What do we know about them? 43 Bracho et al., Recruiting the Heart, Training the The state of the evidence on programmes, Brain. activities, costs and impact on health outcomes 44 Michael J. Belotto, “Data analysis methods for of using community health workers, World qualitative research: Managing the challenges Health Organization, 2007. of coding, interrater reliability, and thematic

100 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy analysis,” Qualitative Report 23, 11(2018): occupational sector and occupation: March 2622–2633. through October 2020,” medRxiv, 22 January 45 Johanna Cormack, Gianina-Ioana Postăvaru, 2021, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/ and Graham Basten, Analyzing qualitative min- 2021.01.21.21250266v1. igroup data using thematic analysis (London, 56 Justin Feldman, “Coronavirus is an England: SAGE Publications Ltd, 2018). occupational disease that spreads at 46 Steve Stemler, “An overview of content work,” Jacobin, 19 January 2021, https:// analysis,” Practical Assessment, Research, and www.jacobinmag.com/2021/01/ Evaluation 7, 1(2000): 17. covid-19-business-work-public-health. 47 Matthew et al., “Advocates for community 57 Raul Macias Gil et al., “COVID-19 pandemic: health and social justice.” disparate health impact on the Hispanic/Latinx 48 Bracho et al., Recruiting the Heart, Training the population in the United States,” The Journal of Brain. Infectious Diseases 222, 10(2020): 1592–1595. 49 Daniel Palazuelos, Paul E. Farmer, and Joia 58 Eva Clark et al., “Disproportionate impact Mukherjee, “Community health and equity of the COVID-19 pandemic on immigrant of outcomes: the partners in health experi- communities in the United States,” PLoS ence,” The Lancet Global Health 6, 5(2018): Neglected Tropical Diseases 14, 7(2020): e491–e493. e0008484. 50 Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes, Patricia Y. Miranda, 59 Noelle Wiggins, “Popular education for health and Sawsan Abdulrahim, “More than culture: promotion and community empowerment: structural racism, intersectionality theory, a review of the literature,” Health Promotion and immigrant health,” Social Science & International 27, 3(2012): 356–371. Medicine 75, 12(2012): 2099–2106. 60 David R. Williams, Jourdyn A. Lawrence, 51 Nina Wallerstein, “Empowerment to reduce and Brigette A. Davis, “Racism and health: health disparities,” Scandinavian Journal of evidence and needed research,” Annual Review Public Health 30, 59_suppl (2002): 72–77. of Public Health 40 (2019): 105–125. 52 Nancy Krieger, “Epidemiology and the web of 61 Emily A. Benfer et al., “Eviction, health ineq- causation: has anyone seen the spider?”, Social uity, and the spread of COVID-19: housing Science & Medicine 39, 7(1994): 887–903. policy as a primary pandemic mitigation 53 William A. Vega, Michael A. Rodriguez, and strategy,” Journal of Urban Health 98, 1(2021): Elizabeth Gruskin, “Health disparities in the 1–12. Latino population,” Epidemiologic Perspectives 62 Janice Hopkins Tanne, “Covid-19: Biden calls 31, 1(2009): 99–112. for science, vaccines, and masks,” BMJ 372, 150 54 “COVID-19 hospitalization and death by race/ (2021). ethnicity,” Centers for Disease Control and 63 Theresa Andrasfay and Noreen Goldman, Prevention: National Center for Immunization “Reductions in 2020 US life expectancy due to and Respiratory Diseases, last modified 12 COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact March 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavi- on the Black and Latino populations,” Proceed- rus/2019-ncov/covid-data/investigations-dis- ings of the National Academy of Sciences 118, covery/hospitalization-death-by-race-ethnicity. 5(2021): e2014746118. html 64 Gonsalves and Kapczynski, “The new politics 55 Yea-Hung Chen et al., “Excess mortality of care.” associated with the COVID-19 pandemic among Californians 18-65 years of age, by

Volume 33 | 2021 101 Opinion Affordable Housing and Latinx Families: An Opportunity for Relief in the Current Pandemic

Andrew Cobian, Alexis Smyser, and Jorge Iván Soto

Abridged Biography: This op-ed was published by members of the Association of Latinx Students for Social Justice at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. To- gether, they have built the Harris School’s first organization for Latinx students, with their mission being to promote discussion and better understanding of the social, political, economic, and Alexis Smyser is a second-year cultural issues facing the US Latinx community master’s of public policy student through a public policy and social justice lens. with experience in social science research who currently hosts a podcast focused on social justice issues affecting women of color in the United States.

Andrew Cobian is a second- year master’s of public policy student with experience in local government and is currently Jorge Iván Soto is a community focused on issues of racial justice organizer and staunch labor activist. and environmental equity. He is passionate about labor rights

102 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy in the immigrant community and brown renters.2 Underlying these and hopes to gain more insight disparities are several challenges that on developing organizing efforts these households faced prior to the pandemic. Communities of color throughout Chicago. have historically experienced systemic housing discrimination due to redlin- As the Biden administration seeks ef- ing and more recent segregationist fective, comprehensive, and bipartisan measures, such as California’s crime- solutions to address the pandemic and free housing policies that empowered bolster economic growth, all future landlords to reject or evict tenants relief packages, legislation, and pol- with a criminal record.3 In addition, icies must address the urgent needs the increased cost burdens of hous- and inequities adversely impacting ing in these communities are largely the Latinx community. In particular, rooted in inequities in educational the federal government must address attainment and disparities in wages.4 the affordable housing crisis, which Some of the most expensive cities in has historically had a disproportionate the United States are home to large impact on Latinx families. This is an Latinx populations, and studies have impact that has been exacerbated by shown that Latinx families living the COVID-19 pandemic, which in these cities are more likely to be has further devastated economic renters that are rent-burdened.5 A security and public health among significant number of these rent-bur- these historically marginalized and dened households are paying over underserved people.1 Therefore, the half their wages for housing.6 Other federal government must implement contributing factors include the type policies that alleviate the rent and of employment many Latinx workers housing burdens faced by Latinx occupy, as they make up large portions families and address the systemic of the workforce in industries that have barriers preventing increased access reduced their personnel as a result of and availability of affordable hous- the pandemic, such as the hospitality ing. This article explores several of and service industries.7 the pandemic’s nuanced effects on Latinx communities have also housing issues and proposes strategies faced disproportionately high rates of that would promote greater equity in eviction as a result of these economic housing policy. and labor market disruptions.8 Con- While the economic burden of sequently, absent sufficient financial the pandemic has been widely felt, assistance, the Latinx community much of it has been borne by Black continues to face a high risk of mass

Volume 33 | 2021 103 eviction. Legislation that addresses dens.10 These stimulus packages have the housing insecurity many Latinx also done little to address the rent people face in this pandemic must burden of those who entered the therefore consider the systemic and pandemic underemployed, as studies historic nature of the barriers and in- have shown that “most households equities these individuals and families who were cost burdened before the faced prior to the pandemic in order COVID-19 crisis do not receive unem- to equitably address the affordable ployment [. . .]. Much of the current housing crisis during and after the assistance flows to higher-income pandemic. renters because they were more likely Since the beginning of the pan- to have previously participated in the demic, Congress has struggled to labor force [. . .].”11 This also extends to adequately address the economic chal- mixed-status Latinx families because lenges faced by the Latinx commu- their citizenship status disqualified nity due to the economic shutdowns them from receiving CARES Act stemming from the various state-level stimulus checks, and some were also stay-at-home orders. Among the signif- barred from receiving unemployment icant federal aid that was enacted was insurance.12 the CARES Act and the $900 billion In addition to extending the current pandemic relief bill, which provided nationwide eviction moratorium im- stimulus checks and an expansion of plemented by the Centers for Disease unemployment insurance benefits, Control, federal policymakers must among other things, to assist house- also focus on providing emergency holds burdened by the economic and short-term rental assistance— slowdown.9 Congress has also passed particularly through funds that are the $1.9 trillion American Rescue distributed to neighborhoods and Plan, which requires a new round of communities that have been hardest stimulus checks and further expands hit by the crisis in terms of unemploy- unemployment insurance benefits ment and rate of attempted evictions. to eligible Americans. The reality, Relief should be prioritized for Black however, is that these relief packages and brown communities that were have not adequately addressed the already overburdened by housing costs needs of the Latinx community. pre-pandemic and are at higher risk Several public opinion surveys of contracting COVID-19.13 show that Americans believe the stim- After the most immediate housing ulus checks should be larger, which concerns are addressed, policymakers would provide critical assistance to must direct their attention to disman- those struggling with high rent bur- tling the systemic and structural barri-

104 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy ers that have long barred Latinx people Endnotes from accessing housing assistance. Over the last several years, the Trump 1 Eileen Diaz McConnell, “Who has housing affordability problems? Dispar- administration implemented several ities in Housing Cost burden by Race, rules affecting public housing eligibil- Nativity and Legal Status in Los Angeles,” ity, including the highly controversial Race and Social Problems 5, 3(2013): “public charge” and “mixed-status” 173–190. rules that barred low-income immi- 2 Les Dunseith, “Black, Latino Renters grant communities from accessing Far More Likely to Be Facing Housing Displacement during Pandemic,” UCLA public housing assistance.14 These Newsroom, UCLA, 11 August 2020, ac- policies discourage Latinx families cessed 6 February 2021, https://newsroom. from participating in public assis- ucla.edu/releases/blacks-latinos-more-like- tance programs they are otherwise ly-to-face-housing-displacement. eligible for, which is especially true 3 Liam Dillon, Ben Poston, and Julia for Latinx households with members Barajas, “Black and Latino Renters Face Eviction, Exclusion amid Police who are undocumented or are fearful Crackdowns in California,” Los Angeles of disrupting their current path to Times, 19 November 2020, accessed citizenship. 6 February 2021, https://www.latimes. The social and economic disrup- com/homeless-housing/story/2020-11-19/ tions stemming from the pandemic california-housing-policies-hurt-black-lati- have disproportionately impacted the no-renters. 4 Charisse Jones, “Joe Biden Pledges to Latinx community and now require a Address Pay, Systemic Racism: ‘Black and bold and visionary policy response to Latino Unemployment Gap Remains Too alleviate their impact. While much Large,’” USA Today, 28 January 2021, of the nation has been adversely im- accessed 6 February 2021, https://www. pacted by the pandemic, members of usatoday.com/story/money/2021/01/18/ the Latinx community are contracting biden-black-america-plans-boost-lend- ing-address-racial-inequities/3578539001/. and dying of COVID-19 at dispropor- 5 Latino Homeownership 2007-2017: A 15 tionately high rates. This is a crisis Decade of Decline for Latinos, UNIDOS that requires the implementation of a US, 1 June 2019, accessed 16 March targeted social safety net that ensures 2021, http://publications.unidosus.org/ the most basic of human needs: a safe handle/123456789/1963. and secure home for even the most 6 Aaron Shroyer and Kathryn Reynolds, “To Stay Stably Housed, Renters Need $16 vulnerable members of our society.3 Billion per Month in Housing Support during the COVID-19 Crisis,” Urban In- stitute, 16 June 2020, accessed 6 February 2021, https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/ stay-stably-housed-renters-need-16-billion-

Volume 33 | 2021 105 month-housing-support-during-covid-19- 14 “Public Charge.” National Immigration crisis. Law Center. March 9, 2021. Accessed 7 Aaron Klein and Ember Smith, “Explain- March 16, 2021. https://www.nilc.org/ ing the Economic Impact of COVID-19: issues/economic-support/pubcharge/. Core Industries and the Hispanic 15 “Risk for COVID-19 Infection, Workforce,” Brookings, 5 February 2021, Hospitalization, and Death By Race/ accessed 16 March 2021, https://www. Ethnicity,” Centers for Disease Control brookings.edu/research/explaining-the- and Prevention, 12 March 2021, accessed economic-impact-of-covid-19-core-indus- 16 March 2021, https://www.cdc.gov/ tries-and-the-hispanic-workforce/. coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/ 8 Sophia Wedeen, “Black and Hispanic investigations-discovery/hospitaliza- Renters Face Greatest Threat of Eviction tion-death-by-race-ethnicity.html. in Pandemic,” Joint Center for Housing Studies, 11 January 2021, accessed 6 February 2021, https://www.jchs.harvard. edu/blog/black-and-hispanic-renters-face- greatest-threat-eviction-pandemic. 9 Kelsey Snell, “What’s Inside The Senate’s $2 Trillion Coronavirus Aid Package,” NPR, 26 March 2020, accessed 16 March 2021, https://www.npr. org/2020/03/26/821457551/whats-inside- the-senate-s-2-trillion-coronavirus-aid- package. 10 Jennifer Rubin, “Opinion | Here Is Why the Stimulus Check Should Be Bigger,” The Washington Post, 29 December 2020, accessed 6 February 2021, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ opinions/2020/12/29/here-is-why-stimulus- check-should-be-bigger/. 11 Shroyer and Reynolds. “To Stay Stably Housed.” 12 Ann Morse, “COVID-19 and Immi- grants,” National Conference of State Legislatures, 24 July 2020, accessed 16 March 2021, https://www.ncsl.org/ research/immigration/covid-19-and-immigrants.aspx. 13 Struggling to Stay Home: Latino Renters in the COVID-19 Pandemic, UNIDOS US, 30 September 2020, accessed 6 February 2021, http://publications.nclr.org/ handle/123456789/2087.

106 Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy Call for submissions The Harvard Kennedy School Journal of Hispanic Policy (JHP) invites established and emerging scholars, including students, researchers, journalists, artists, and policy practitioners to submit their work for JHP’s Volume 34 print publication. JHP is accepting research articles, book reviews, commentaries, and artwork submissions relevant to the latinx community in the United States for print publication consideration. All submissions must be the author’s original work.

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