Last week, Trump issued an Executive Order to ban new immigrant visas in the United States for 60 days. The following is a statement from Juan Cartagena, President and General Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF:

With the COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve been faced with the unimaginable pain this new reality has brought upon our nation, particularly the most vulnerable within our communities.

The deepening Covid-19 crisis has exposed the particular vulnerabilities of communities of color, who have limited or compromised access to social support and relief systems. Often hidden in our society, immigrant Latinxs are among the most impacted. This underscores the importance of the 2020 decennial Census and its long-term impact on the Latinx community.

"It’s not easy being latina / latino in the u.s. today and in the 2020 national elections and its aftermath, no matter who wins, it will not be easy being latina/latino in the u.s. A reelection of the incumbent will embolden hate like few times in our history Similarly, an election of a new president will embolden hate like few times in our history" What's at stake?

As the year draws to a close, I can’t help but think ahead to 2020, which will be a profoundly important year for Latinxs, for immigrants and other marginalized communities and for justice writ large. I refer to a confluence of 2020 civic processes that will have a resounding and long-lasting impact for decades to come – the decennial Census and the Presidential Election.

This article was originally published on Latino Rebels here.