Two philanthropic leaders from the US Latino community have penned a joint letter, stating their dismay at the rhetoric during the race for the White House which has seen people of Latin American heritage targeted.  

‘This election cycle has been a harrowing reminder of the enduring commitment by some to attack, dehumanise, and strip us of our identity as Americans,’ said Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation and Miguel A. Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation. 

Their anger comes as the election draws to a close, with the US presidential race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump spinning into a heated debate, following offensive statements made at a Trump rally about Puerto Rico as well as Trump’s renewed attacks on Mexicans immigrants crossing the US border.

‘We have been the political punchline, the topic of conversation at the party we were never invited to, and the subject of the debate at the dining room table where we never had a seat,’ the two philanthropy leaders wrote. 

They added that Latinos have found themselves ‘in the same place they’ve been for every election since our founding’.  

Despite the vitriol from former US President Trump, Rojas and Santana said both of America’s main political parties bore responsibility for the lack of investment in Latin American people across the country. 

‘Both parties have underinvested in and underestimated our community. They have far underestimated the ways in which our vote, our participation, and our representation in the halls of power are critical ingredients for the creation of a multiracial democracy,’ they said. 

Less than 1 per cent of philanthropic aid reaches Latino communities in the United States. 

Conversely, Latin American contribution to the US economy amounted to $1.3 trillion in 2021, according to a study by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers. 

‘Both parties have underinvested in and underestimated our community. They have far underestimated the ways in which our vote, our participation, and our representation in the halls of power are critical ingredients for the creation of a multiracial democracy’

‘As two leaders in philanthropy, we have a lot in common. We run institutions with the privilege of stewarding resources to make people’s lives better. We are Latinos who love our people and do so in solidarity with others,’ they said, remembering a time when ‘the threat of mass deportations was very real, where English-only legislation made us afraid to talk to our friends and family in Spanish in public, and where legislation to bar tax-paying immigrants from accessing public benefits was formalised.’

Rojas began her career as a community organiser in California in the 1990s, laying the groundwork for her lifelong commitment to advancing economic and racial equity and championing diversity, before spearheading the Marguerite Casey Foundation.

Santana began his career as a community liaison at the Mexican American Legal Defence and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and later led protests to Proposition 187 – a ballot initiative proposed by anti-immigrant organisations, which restricted undocumented immigrants from the state’s public services, including access to public education and healthcare.

Both said that whatever the outcomes of the election is, they will “not rest until our voices are heard and our community is respected.” 

The role of philanthropy in US politics has come under the spotlight. The Tides Foundation, a democracy-focused funder, signalled the alarm bell that more is needed to strengthen the increasingly fragile state of democracy in the country. 

In an interview with Alliance, Kathleen Enright, President and CEO of the Council on Foundations, has warned that ‘a great deal [is] at stake for both the nonprofit sector and philanthropy’.

Shafi Musaddique is the news editor at Alliance magazine.