WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Co-Chairs of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) House Caucus Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), along with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), co-chair of the Senate HSI Caucus, issued a joint statement applauding key actions the Biden-Harris Administration will take to expand educational opportunities for Latino students.

The actions will establish the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Hispanic-Serving Institutions and the President’s Board of Advisors for HSIs. The lawmakers also applauded a Department of Education proposed rule to expand the federal TRIO program, which helps low-income students, including Dreamers, successfully transition to higher education:

“A good education is the foundation of the American Dream. For too long, our nation has tolerated an unacceptable gap in college attendance and completion rates for Latino students. The strength of our workforce and economy depends on giving every student a fair chance at a quality higher education — and Hispanic-Serving Institutions are critical partners in achieving this goal.

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement today will help advance educational excellence across HSIs, increase pathways to higher education, and prepare the next generation of our nation’s workforce. The Administration is also taking key steps today to help thousands of Dreamers and other aspiring first-generation students get the resources and support services they need to smoothly transition to college. As leaders of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions Congressional Caucuses, we remain fiercely committed to building on this announcement to provide HSIs with the necessary tools to uplift Latino communities across our country.”

Hispanic-Serving Institutions are accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25 percent or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time students. There are 600 HSIs in the United States that enroll over two-thirds of all Hispanic undergraduate students and more than 4.7 million students in total — empowering and improving communities of color. There are 20 HSIs in Arizona.

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