FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2020
CONTACT
Juan Gastelum, [email protected], 213-375-3149
Tenoch Flores, [email protected]
NILC Statement on President-elect Biden’s Selection of Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services
WASHINGTON, DC — Upon the announcement that President-elect Joe Biden will be nominating California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center and the NILC Immigrant Justice Fund, issued the following statement:
“We at the National Immigration Law Center applaud President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris’s stellar selection of California Attorney General (AG) Xavier Becerra to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). With a global pandemic raging through our communities and hampering our economy, the importance of an experienced leader at the helm of HHS cannot be overstated. By selecting AG Becerra, the Biden-Harris team has chosen a smart, compassionate, and talented leader with federal and state experience who will step into the role ready to serve.
“I have worked closely with Xavier over the years, most recently as he led the national litigation charge to defend against Trump’s incessant attacks on immigrant and LGBTQ communities. There has been no greater defender of the Affordable Care Act than AG Becerra; and on the public charge and DACA, he has been a strong advocate for immigrants and their loved ones.
“AG Becerra is a committed and experienced public servant, a meticulous lawyer, and a strong advocate for the expansion of health care access to all who need it, including to immigrants who continue to perform essential work during the COVID pandemic. As the son of immigrants who grew up in a low-income household, he represents another example of the Biden-Harris team’s commitment to ensuring that their administration not only represents the best our nation has to offer but is also a reflection of the country itself.
“We at NILC look forward to partnering with incoming HHS Secretary Becerra in ensuring that we have inclusive COVID relief that provides everyone, regardless of immigration status or how much money we have, with access to COVID testing and necessary medical care, including the forthcoming vaccine. We stand ready to partner with him and applaud the Biden-Harris team for their wise selection of Xavier Becerra to lead HHS.”
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