- Hillary Clinton
« Transcript of Clinton Speech at NABJ-NAHJ Convention
August 5, 2016
At NABJ/NAHJ Joint Conference, Clinton Pledges to Fight For African-American and Latino Families
At the National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Joint Conference in Washington, D.C. on Friday, Hillary Clinton paid tribute to the reporters ensuring our press corps reflect our country's diversity. Clinton discussed her commitment to greater African-American and Latino economic opportunity, which includes significant new investments to create more good-paying jobs, targeted approaches like Congressman Clyburn's 10-20-30 plan, criminal justice reform, and comprehensive immigration reform. Clinton also called out Donald Trump for empowering bigotry during the 2016 campaign, saying "We need to stand up as a country, and say Donald Trump doesn't represent who we are and what we believe [...] Many of you are showing the way. It’s a badge of honor when Jorge Ramos gets thrown out of a press conference for challenging Donald Trump. Or when another news organization gets banned for reporting what he says. As Jorge said, the best journalism happens when you take a stand, when you denounce injustice."Clinton's remarks, as transcribed, are below:
“Morning! I am so pleased to be here, I want to thank you all for the invitation, for the introduction, to everyone associated with NABJ and NAHJ, I want to just mark the moment because you were created in this hotel.
I don’t know if there are any original founders, but if there are could you all stand up and we could give you some recognition?
I am delighted to thank you for the important work you do every day, and now more than ever we need you to keep holding leaders and candidates accountable. And in the tradition of path-breaking journalists like Ethel Payne and Ruben Salazar, we need you to make sure that America’s front pages and nightly newscasts and online information reflects the great diversity of our nation.
Someone that I had the privilege of knowing, the late, great Bob Maynard, former owner of the Oakland Tribune, once said – and I quote Bob – ‘It is in seeing ourselves whole that we can begin to see ways of working out our differences of understanding our similarities,’ and becoming a more cohesive nation.
And that is what you do every day, helping us to see ourselves as whole. You help us see ourselves whole.
I’m looking forward to our discussion, which I’m sure will cover a wide range of issues, but I want to take just a few minutes to focus on a challenge that doesn’t get enough attention out on the campaign trail, although I’ve been trying, and that is: how do we expand economic opportunity for African Americans and Latinos across America?
And you know very well, it’s been said that when the economy catches a cold, communities of color get pneumonia. The Great Recession hit our whole country hard, but the toll was especially difficult for black and Latino families. Black wealth was cut in half. For Latinos, it dropped 66 percent. That represented decades, even generations of hard work. And during these past 18 months, people across the country have described to me how hard it’s been to get back on their feet in an economy that is still not working the way we all want to see it. And barriers of systemic racism makes that even harder.
Now I believe that President Obama does not get the credit he deserves for leading us out of the Great Recession, and I like to remind people he had nothing to do with creating it in the first place. He came into office and this worst-of-all-financial-crises-since-the-Great-Depression was handed to him. And I think if you fairly look at the record, you have to conclude that his leadership saved us from a Great Depression.
So as bad as things became – 9 million jobs lost, 5 million homes lost, $13 trillion in family wealth wiped out – as bad as it was, there's no telling how far down we would have gone without his leadership. So we are out of the ditch that we were in, and now we’ve got to do even more. We’ve got to build on the progress we’ve made. 15 million new jobs in the last seven years. 20 million people now have health insurance who did not have it before he became President.
So we’ve got to have the will and the plans together to move forward. That’s why I’ve proposed a comprehensive new commitment to African American and Latino communities to make serious, sustained investments to create more good-paying jobs; to help families build and rebuild wealth; and support black- and Latino-owned small businesses. For me, these aren’t just economic issues – they’re part of the long, continuing struggle for civil rights.
Rosa Parks opened up every seat on the bus. Now we’ve got to expand economic opportunity so everyone can afford the fare. And we have to make sure the bus route reaches every neighborhood, and connects families with safe, affordable housing and good jobs.
Sylvia Mendez and Ruby Bridges helped desegregate our schools. Now we’ve got to help every family afford the books, computers and internet access that our kids need to learn in the 21st century.
And so in my first 100 days as President, we will work with both parties to pass the biggest investment in new, good-paying jobs since World War II. That includes jobs in manufacturing, clean energy, technology and innovation, small businesses, and infrastructure. If we invest in infrastructure now, we will not only create jobs today, we will lay the foundation for the jobs of the future.
We’re going to also focus on creating jobs in communities where unemployment remains stubbornly high after generations of underinvestment and neglect. I’m a big fan of Congressman Jim Clyburn’s ‘10-20-30’ plan – steering 10 percent of federal investment to neighborhoods where 20 percent of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years. We need that kind of focused, targeted investment – in urban places, rural places – wherever Americans have been left out and left behind.
We’re also going to invest $20 billion in creating jobs for young people. There’s a big gap here. The unemployment rate among Latino and African American youth is significantly higher than for whites. You know, it’s hard to write a resume if you have nothing to put on it. We’re going to help young people get that first job, so they can get that second job, so they can build a good solid middle-class life that will give them and their families a better future.
We’re going to do more to help black and Latino entrepreneurs get access to capital, so they have a real chance at turning their ideas into thriving businesses. Now I think that’s not only good for those entrepreneurs – it’s good for their families, their workers, and their communities.
Additionally, as part of our end-to-end reform of the criminal justice system, we’re going to help people succeed when they return home from jail or prison. We’re going to ban the box so they can be judged by their skills and talents, not by their past. And we will dedicate $5 billion to provide training and support to returning citizens so they can get good-paying jobs.
And in my first 100 days, I’m going to introduce legislation for comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship – that’s not only the right thing to do. Every independent analysis shows it will add hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy. It will also keep families together. We need to bring hard-working people out of the shadows. America has always been a place where people from around the world work hard and apply their talents to American growth and innovation in pursuit of their own dreams. So we’re going to do everything we can to get this done.
We need to build an economy and a future that every American can be proud of and be a part of. An economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. That will be my mission as President.
These are just the highlights of our plan. I hope you’ll go to my website, hillaryclinton.com to read the details, including how we’re going to pay for everything I’ve proposed.
And of course I hope you’ll compare that to what my opponent is talking about.
Here’s one measure that you could use for that comparison: an independent economist recently calculated that, if my agenda for jobs and growth is put into place, our economy would create at least 10.4 million jobs within four years. We actually think it could be much more than that.
Now this economist also ran the numbers on Donald Trump, including his disastrous and inhumane plan to round up and deport millions of hard-working immigrants. The result, according to Mark Zandi, who was the economic advisor to John McCain during his 2008 run for the presidency, the result of Trump’s plans would be a ‘lengthy recession’ with 3.4 million jobs lost.
Now of course, Trump’s problems go far beyond economics. At every turn, he stokes division and resentment. He says horrible things about one group of Americans after another. He’s harkening back to the most shameful chapters of our history and appealing to the ugliest impulses of our society.
You know the list, you’ve reported on it. He started his campaign by describing Mexican immigrants as ‘criminals’ and ‘rapists.’ He retweets white nationalists. He says a distinguished judge can’t be trusted because he is of Mexican heritage. He talks about banning Muslims from coming to the United States – a land built on religious freedom. And yes, he also talks about curtailing press freedom as well.
We need to stand up as a country, and say Donald Trump doesn't represent who we are and what we believe. That is what my campaign, what Tim Kaine and I, and everyone supporting us, is doing every day. And we're going to keep at it. Because I believe with all my heart that America is better than this. America is better than Donald Trump.
We just launched an all-Spanish Twitter account, because we want to bring as many Americans as possible into this conversation. We’ve opened offices in every state, because we want to compete everywhere – we want to bring our message and our vision to all corners of our country.
But we can’t do it alone. Everyone – Republican, Democrat, and independent – needs to stand up and speak out. And I think journalists have a special responsibility to our democracy in a time like this. As Ida B. Wells once said, ‘people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare to the press.’
Many of you are showing the way. It’s a badge of honor when Jorge Ramos gets thrown out of a press conference for challenging Donald Trump. Or when another news organization gets banned for reporting what he says. As Jorge said, the best journalism happens when you take a stand, when you denounce injustice.
So I hope you’ll keep calling it like you see it. Keep holding all of us accountable. I have laid out all these plans, and I’m well aware that I have been sometimes made fun of for putting out these plans about the economy and education and gun safety measures and all the rest of it. But I have this old fashioned idea that when you run for President, you ought to tell the voters of America what you would do as President. So I am going to keep telling you what I'm going to do because I want you to hold me accountable, press and citizens alike.
Because the stakes are as high as they’ve ever been in our lifetimes. And we all have to do our part.
So thank you for what you do everyday, thank you for inviting me to address you today. And I look forward to taking some of your questions today. Thank you all very much.”
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For Immediate Release, August 5, 2016
Trump Campaign Statement On Clinton's 100 Days Open Borders Pledge
“In her remarks today, Hillary Clinton pledged unconstitutional and
illegal executive orders on immigration -- assuming king-like powers
for herself -- that would give precious jobs and benefits needed by
unemployed Americans to those illegally in the country.
Her pledge for amnesty in her first 100 days -- in the middle of a
national security and a border security crisis -- demonstrates her
callous and cruel disregard for the safety of the American people. This
Administration has released hundreds of thousands of criminal illegal
immigrants, and yet Clinton says she wants to go even further, ending
virtually all deportations and ending all protections Americans have
against open borders. Her extremist plan will ensure that individuals
who mean to do harm and who show up at the border, or overstay their
visas, are sprung loose time and again until an irreversible crime
happens against innocent Americans like Sarah Root or Brandon Mendoza.”
– Stephen Miller, Senior Policy Advisor
As A 2016 Presidential Candidate, Clinton Has Said “We
Can’t Wait Any Longer For A Path To Full And Equal Citizenship”:
In May 2015, Clinton Said “We Can’t Wait Any Longer For A Path
To Full And Equal Citizenship.” CLINTON:
“The American people support comprehensive immigration reform, not just
because it’s the right thing to do – and it is – but because they know
it strengthens families, strengthens our economy and strengthens our
country. That’s why we can’t wait any longer, we can’t wait any longer
for a path to full and equal citizenship.” (Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
An
Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
In May 2015, Clinton Said That When Republican Presidential
Candidates “Talk About Legal Status, That Is Code For Second-Class
Status.” CLINTON: “Now this is where I differ with everybody
on the Republican side. Make no mistakes; today not a single Republican
candidate announced or potential is clearly and consistently supporting
a path to citizenship. Not one. When they talk about legal status, that
is code for second-class status.” (Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
Rancho
High School, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
- Clinton Said That As Secretary Of State, She Saw What Happens When Countries “Establish A Second-Class Status For People,” That It Is “A Recipe For Divisiveness And Even For Disintegration.” CLINTON: “As Secretary of State, I saw what happens to countries that establish a second-class status for people. They do not feel that they belong or they have any allegiance to the country in which they live and work because they’re never fully accepted. That is a recipe for divisiveness and even for disintegration and therefore, my view, strongly is that we are a nation of immigrants; we’ve assimilated tens and tens of millions of people over the course of our history.” (Hillary Clinton,Remarks At An Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
In May 2015, Clinton Said That Not Including A Path To
Citizenship In Immigration Reform “Fundamentally Undermin[es] What
Makes America Unique.”
CLINTON: “We have eleven, twelve million people right now who
are undocumented. The vast majority of whom have proven that they want
to be a citizen of this country and we should put them on that path.
And those who say, ‘oh yeah we can do immigration reform, but not a
path to citizenship,’ would be fundamentally undermining what has made
America unique – the way we have assimilated people, the way people who
come here feel so loyal, the contributions they make. So this is not
just in my view the right thing to do for America, if you compare us to
other countries that did not take that step, you can see what it’s done
to them, and I don’t want to go there. So, I very firmly support a path
to citizenship in the context of comprehensive immigration reform.”
(Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
An
Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
In May 2015, Clinton Said That Quickly Legalizing Illegal
Immigrants Will Result In A Better Job Market For Everybody:
In May 2015, Clinton Said “The Quicker We Legalize The People
Who Are Here [Illegally], The Better The Job Market Will Be For
Everybody.”
CLINTON: “Oftentimes, when I have conversations with people
who are fearful of immigration reform, their fears are rooted in
feeling that they’re losing jobs that are going to people who are
undocumented. Part of the reason that fear has a reality to it is
because people can pay you $6 an hour because you’re undocumented, then
why would they pay somebody is already a citizen, what the minimum wage
or the prevailing wage should be? My argument is, the quicker we
legalize the people who are here, the better the job market will be for
everybody because you will not have a group of people who are taken
advantage of, and you will not have others who feel as though – and to
some extent it’s true – are losing jobs because this group that is
being taken advantage of is paid so much less and treated so much
worse.” (Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
An
Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
Clinton Has Defended President Obama’s Executive Actions On
Immigration And Vowed To Go Further:
In 2012, Obama Signed An Executive Order On Deferring Action
For Childhood Arrivals, Which Allowed Some Illegal Immigrants To Avoid
Deportation. “In June 2012, Obama announced that his
administration would defer deportations for two years for people who
came to the United States illegally as children. The Deferred Action
for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed people who are in
school, have graduated or have been honorably discharged from the
military to stay in the country without fear of deportation. More than
550,000 youths have received the two-year deportation deferrals, which
are now being renewed for another two years.” (Rebecca Shabad, “Obama’s
Key Executive Actions,”The
Hill,7/6/14)
In May 2015, Clinton Said She Strongly Supported President
Obama’s Immigration-Related Executive Actions And Said “He Had To Act
In The Face Of Inaction.” CLINTON: “I want to reiterate my
strong support for the President’s executive actions, because he had to
act in the face of inaction that was not on the merit, but politically
motivated for partisan reasons which I think is not the way we should
be solving our problems in our country, in our Congress or anywhere
else.”(Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
Rancho
High School, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
In May 2015, Clinton Said She Would “Do Everything Possible
Under The Law To Go Even Further” Than Obama’s Immigration-Related
Executive Action If Congress Doesn’t Act.
CLINTON: “I will fight to stop partisan attacks on the
executive actions that would put DREAMers, including those with us
today, at risk of deportation. And if Congress continues to refuse to
act, as President, I will do everything possible under the law to go
even further. There are more people, like many parents of DREAMers and
others with deep ties and contributions to our communities, who deserve
a chance to stay and I will fight for them. The law currently allows
for sympathetic cases to be reviewed. Right now, most of these cases,
have no way to get a real hearing. Therefore, we should put in place a
simple, straightforward, accessible way for parents of DREAMers and
others with a history of service and contribution to their communities
to make their case, and to be eligible for the same deferred action as
their children.”(Hillary Clinton,Remarks
At
An
Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
- Specifically, Clinton Said She Would Fight For More Protections For The Parents Of DREAMers That Aren’t Included Under The Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Or Deferred Action For Parents Of Americans (DAPA) Programs. CLINTON: “As you point out, in your family, you have a brother who’s a citizen so we have a lot of these blended families and I want to do more to make sure DACA and DAPA and all of the changes that have occurred continue, and even expand. I would like to try to do more on behalf of the parents of DREAMers who are not necessarily included.”(Hillary Clinton,Remarks At An Immigration Round Table, Las Vegas, NV, 5/5/15)
Please read the following excerpts from National Border
Patrol Council’s letter
condemning Hillary Clinton’s immigration platform.
“Finally, the administration intentionally misled the public on how
many criminal aliens ICE released into the country. It has been
reported that the agency released more than 80,000 illegal aliens with
criminal records. …The Boston Globe reported that 30 percent of those
released in New England re-offended and were charged with rape, child
molestation, aggravated assault, armed robbery and attempted murder.
This is Obama’s true legacy on border security.”
“Secretary Clinton’s call for amnesty in her first 100 days and
expanding these dangerous policies demonstrates her deeply alarming
willingness to sell out the security of American families to advance
her political or financial interests. Her immigration plan is not only
dangerous for all American families, but previews an Administration
that will once again defy the will of the voters and Congress to
implement a divisive, reckless, and partisan agenda.”
“Clinton’s Immigration Plan is dangerous, and may win her fringe voter
support at the risk of every family’s security.”
“Chaos is the enemy of peace. The public must get the facts and reject
this plan, and its architect, Secretary Clinton.”
“The National Border Patrol Council, and its 16,500 Border Patrol
Agent members stand in opposition to this reckless, radical and deeply
dangerous plan."
RNC Statement On Hillary Clinton’s Remarks At The NABJ-NAHJ Convention
“Judging from the way Hillary Clinton kept lying at today’s event, it’s not hard to see why she hasn’t held a press conference in 244 days,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “Despite her calls for the press to hold candidates accountable, there’s no doubt Hillary Clinton is desperate to avoid a taste of her own medicine. By yet again falsely claiming that what Director Comey said at his press conference is consistent with what she told the American people about her reckless mishandling of classified information, Hillary Clinton is once again proving herself incapable of telling the truth to the nation. Instead of coming clean about her secret email setup which jeopardized national security, Hillary Clinton continues to run from transparency and accountability, and voters deciding on the next president of the United States can have no faith she will level with them on this or any other issue.”