By EFE
Sep 18, 2024, 8:25 PM EDT
President Joe Biden, during a reception at the White House, said that the United States is a strong country because it is a nation made up of immigrants, in response to the anti-immigration rhetoric of former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden made the remarks during his participation alongside actress Jessica Alba at a reception at the White House with leaders of the Latino community to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated every September in the United States.
“We do not attack”
“We don’t demonize immigrants. We don’t attack them. We don’t believe they are poisoning the blood of our country,” the Democratic president said, referring to comments Trump made last year.
“We are a nation of immigrants and that is why we are so strong,” Biden said.
The president argued that the United States was not created based on a specific territory or ethnicity, but rather under “the idea that all men and women should be treated equally.”
“The Hispanic community will change the country”
The president, who was applauded in the conference room with shouts of “Thank you, Joe,” added that the Hispanic community “will change” the country in the next decade because 25% of minors are Latino.
Jessica Alba, for her part, shared the story of her grandparents, who migrated from Mexico to the United States at the beginning of the last century and “never stopped believing” in a better future.
“That legacy of hard work and unwavering hope is something I carry with me every day,” the actress said.
Message in Spanish
Previously, the White House dedicated part of its daily press conference to defending the policies promoted by Biden and his vice president, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, in support of the Latino community, such as the plan to regularize migrants married to Americans. This message was delivered in Spanish.
Spokeswoman Luisana Pérez Fernández said that “diversity is one of the greatest strengths” of the United States.
Immigration is a central issue in the November election campaign and this came into focus after Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign spread false information that Haitian migrants were eating neighbors’ pets in the city of Springfield, Ohio.
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