HLF’s analysis and advocacy covers a wide variety of topics, as we firmly believe that all issues affect American Hispanics across the country. The following broad categories encompass most of our work.
Issue Advocacy
The tax burden on American families is too high. Taxpayers should be allowed to keep more of their hard-earned money. The government’s undisciplined spending results in massive, growing deficits that some politicians try to take advantage of to increase taxes on American families. Government should first reign in overspending before asking families to sacrifice their income and diminish their opportunity and standard of living.
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Small businesses account for two-thirds of all jobs in the United States. The U.S. Census estimates that Hispanics start small businesses at a rate three times higher than the general population. Economic policies should prioritize small business growth, job creation, and opportunity for all.
Every child in America should benefit from a quality education, and every parent should be able choose the education they feel is best suited for their children. Ultimately, education should not be about giving more power to union bosses, how much is spent on buildings, or political side issues. Education policy should always be driven by a commitment to improve the lives and opportunities for all American children. In post-secondary education, policy should facilitate increased opportunities in modern vocational and skills training for adults. Placing a priority on student loan reform and costs of a university degree are also paramount to increasing access and affordability.
Economic Freedom & Financial Empowerment
Free enterprise is the most successful economic system the world has ever known. Economic liberty drives human progress, creates vast opportunity, and continues to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. Proper governance safeguards the natural rights of voluntary exchange and property rights. HLF fights to protect and enhance equal opportunity, encourage entrepreneurship and ownership, increase financial literacy, and expand access to markets and investment opportunities. Public policy should seek to empower individuals and families to sustain long-lasting prosperity and a better quality of life for all.
Immigration is and has always been a great benefit to America—enriching those born here as well as those who come in pursuit of the American Dream. HLF stands for modernizing, streamlining, and improving the legal immigration process, which at present is incredibly difficult to navigate. This bureaucratic bottleneck creates pointless delays in application processing—often up to 20 years, is a direct catalyst for illegal immigration and hurts economic progress. HLF stands for patriotism and the promotion of America’s founding principles. We believe that increased proficiency in English improves immigrants’ ability to achieve a better life and contribute to our country’s success, as well as rightly fulfills the United States’ historical motto of E Pluribus Unum: “Out of Many, One.”
Every country in the world has a right to take reasonable and responsible steps to protect its borders. Smugglers, traffickers, and violent criminals pose a direct threat to the safety of all Americans and should be the highest priority for our border patrol and other enforcement authorities.
We stand for harnessing the power of free market principles to cultivate solutions that can sustain the energy needs of the 21st Century economy. Increasing innovation through policies rooted in sound science and proper incentives will result in a cleaner environment and propel a thriving economy that produces abundant, affordable, and reliable energy for all.
Public policy should always incentivize innovation to meet the challenge of sustainable, long-term economic growth and development. Advancements in telecommunications and increased Internet access expand educational options, boost student achievement, and help drive economic growth, especially for small businesses. In addition, public policy should provide a path for increased opportunities in workforce development and ongoing skills training to help drive American competitiveness in the 21st Century.
The United States Constitution is the best document yet devised for protecting liberty and ensuring the fundamental principles of self-government, the rule of law, and democracy. HLF stands for defending the entire Constitution, Bill of Rights, all additional amendments, and the civil liberties and rights of all people. When the government strays from consistent and equal protection of Constitutional rights for some, the rights of all are threatened. HLF fights to protect the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Government policy that impacts the lives of hard-working Americans is often done via regulatory agencies. We believe that too many important decisions are left in the hands of unelected, and often unaccountable, bureaucrats. Duplicative, excessive, and sometimes even contradictory regulations erode trust in government and democratic processes, and often stifle economic progress. Government regulations should be transparent and straightforward— drafted with maximum input from the public and implemented according to duly established laws.
We believe in the fundamental right of people to earn a living without onerous interference from government or other entities. This includes supporting simplifying overly cumbersome occupational licensing requirements and protecting individuals’ right to be independent contractors—especially vital in newer gig economy industries. We stand for the right to work—no one should be forced join or give money to any labor union just to get or keep a job. We also believe in the freedom of association and protecting the right of workers to join a labor union if they freely choose.
The Western Hemisphere is the United States’ neighborhood, and the U.S. should seek opportunities to increase trade and cooperation in the region. We support our democratic allies against destabilizing forces that undermine freedom and prosperity. Criminal entities, terrorist and militant organizations, and the growing influence of adversarial countries all threaten peace and U.S. national security. We oppose despotic governments who oppress their own people. HLF favors sanctions against the regime in Cuba until it establishes the rule of law, frees political prisoners, and holds free and fair elections. HLF supports a democratic, transparent, and Congressionally sponsored process allowing the three million American citizens in Puerto Rico to vote on their political status and seek statehood if they do desire.