could not use the same restroom facilities. >> join us sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern as we look back to our conversation with representative john lewis. joining us from los angeles is arturo vargas, the ceo of the national association of latino elected and appointed visuals edge -- and appointed officials educational fund. about yourviewers organization, its purpose and what it does. guest: our organization was established in 1975. he was a pioneer in american politics and latino politics. the cdc campus is named after him because of his leadership in helping ensure this country had

policies.health our mission is to promote the full participation of latinos in american democracy. we are a membership organization, but also a nonprofit organization that works every day to strengthen american democracy, by making surely tino's fully participate. -- sure latinos fully participate. host: i'm sure you are keeping an eye on the decision by the president when it comes to the senses. remind the decision and the response your organization has. guest: we are laser focused and making sure this country has a fair and accurate 2020 senses. unfortunately the administration has been taking a number of steps over the last 3.5 years that has really undermined the work of the senses professionals and experts. the latest is a policy memorandum the president released on tuesday in which he

is directing the department of commerce that after the census estimates tose remove a certain number of people from each state that the sectary of commerce would believe would be undocumented immigrants. anti-was the second set of numbers to reimburse the house of representatives. host: "although the constitution requires persons in each state including any tax close could be enumerated in the senses the requirement has never seen to include all those physically present within estates boundaries at the time of the senses, and said the terms persons in each state has been interpreted to mean only the "inhabitants" of each state should be included. when you think of that interpretation?

guest: as in many things in this administration does, it gets it wrong. delegations are false. the census bureau's policy for decades has been to ensure that everybody who is a resident on the -- in the united states on april 1, which is the reference day that the census is taken, is to be counted. that language, the full number of persons, is from the 14th amendment of the constitution. when the draft was amended and they wrote the language, they consider the word citizen, full number of citizens, but they decided to go with whole number of persons to ensure that the house is based on total population. host: our guest is with us until 8:30. democrats, (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001.

independents, (202) 748-8002. if you are a latino, (202) 748-8003. what could happen to the census count, and what does that mean for latinos in the united states? what i find particularly offensive to american sensibility is that president wants to change it through mmo, number one. number two, it really cuts the numbers after the census is conducted. the census bureau already has an incredible challenge to try to finish the census given the current circumstances. we know we are at risk of having a flood senses to begin with. after the census is taken, to change the numbers again, to cut the numbers for political partisan benefit, i think is truly un-american. we saw the citizenship question go all the way to the supreme court. what are the chances of this

going all away they are, and has your organization filed suit? guest: we haven't filed suit, but i was witness of one of the lawsuits filed in new york. adding a citizenship question and what we learned in the federal lawsuit that came out as ofdence is that the purpose including a citizenship question was so that the states would know we noncitizens live so they could draw new electoral districts in the way that would benefit non-hispanic whites and republicans. the whole point of the citizenship question was to give politicaledge to one party. this is not the way we should be doing american politics in the country today. we shouldn't be rigging the system so that a political party has an advantage. host: going forward to 2020, what is the message your organization has for the candidates involved. what is of most interest to

latino voters in your opinion? guest: right now the latino elation in the united states is in crisis. it is one of the populations most affected by the covid-19 pandemic. infection rates among latinos are skyrocketing. they are essential workers. they are the ones making sure we have food that we can buy, they are in the meatpacking industry, they are in industries suffering outbreaks of covid-19 infections. mortality rates among latinos are skyrocketing. the economic impact has been devastating. this has become the outside issue in the latino community. prior to covid-19 we know latinos were very interested in making sure there was access to good paying jobs, good quality education for their children, good public safety, making sure they had the opportunity to live the american dream. right now it seems so many latinos are living an american nightmare in this pandemic.

host: is the rate of infection among latinos contributed only because of working situations? is it access to testing, medical care? all three? how does that rate? guest: all of the above. i live in los angeles. the state with the largest number of latinos. at one point california was recognized as a leader in trying to deal effectively with this pandemic, and doing testing. of the initial testing sites -- all the initial testing sites were not in areas with large latino populations. those k months later. access to testing, access -- those came months later. access to testing, access to health care has not been equally distributed. if we look at the allocation of resources and health care and quality alec -- quality education, you can see how the inequity existed. host: tony in florida, homestead florida, a latino voter.

you're on with arturo vargas. caller: thank you, pedro. good morning. good morning, america. would you, mr. vargas, please share a comment about the latino congresswoman that has been in the news and was spoken of before? also, what do you suggest to address those issues you spoke of earlier? everything you do, guys. with regard to the congresswomanbout alexandria ocasio-cortez, what i

always admired about the way members of congress conducted themselves as they did so with dignity and decorum. even when they disagreed they should not be disagreeable. on the house floor they would refer to each other as the gentleman, and as women were elected, the gentlelady from certain states. to see how we have evolved to where members of congress are calling each other slurs and using language that is not even fit for prime time really speaks to where we are as a nation in terms of our politics. i believe she deserves an apology. more than anything i think there should be some examination -- how did we get here? how do we go back to the day when we could disagree, but respect each other? with regard to the issues i've raised, i think what is most necessary from a latino perspective is to ensure that all of us participate.

everybody be counted in the census as required by the united states constitution. that every eligible united states citizen 18 years old or older register to vote and vote in these elections. this is the way we ensure we have a strong democracy, and this is the way we ensure that the latino population has the full voice in the decision being made in the country. host: on the independent line from florida, port charlotte this is mike. caller: things for taking my call. i think the issue is becoming a little clouded. if the constitution says that, at the time the constitution was wereen, women and children not voters. voters were the ones represented in the congress, voters only. this implies white landowners,

ok? now it is voters. that is women -- i don't care what kind of race they are. they didn't care what kind of race they were in the beginning. it was white voters, ok? that has changed over time. i don't have a problem with that. what i do have a problem with is when you start counting illegal people who don't belong here. that includes people who have overstayed visas, whatever nationality, ok? these people are not entitled to our --esented at host: thank you for that. go ahead. guest: reminder about the constitution when it was written census itself required a numeration of all people and 3/5

of other people. that included african-american slaves. this was the count in the constitution written for apportioning the house of representatives. you count everyone. you don't count indians not taxed. if you are an african-american slave, you are 60% of a person. that is when the constitution was written. the 14th amendment that abolished slavery for which this country fought one of the bloodiest wars ever come of the civil war, resulted in changing the language of the constitution to say that the whole number of persons are to be counted. it doesn't matter if you are female,lack, male, doesn't matter your age, if you are a citizen, the language of the constitution is clear. it says the whole person. e in chicago,

illinois, independent line. caller: i would just like to say two things. number one, if you look at the bible -- i can't quote it directly -- but the theme of it a person is taught as a child will, a young take that throughout that person's life when they become older and when they are old. it comes from the bible, sorry i can't give you the exact scripture. it plays out in the lives of each person living on this earth. people, i think they are marvelous, wonderful people, all americans in this country, and should be treated with the greatest respect, as everyone else. thank you. guest: thank you. host: mr. vargas, you as well of

-- as well as i have seen the the usen the protests, of police force. what is the positioning of your organization or what you are might that concerns particularly have for latino voters? guest: the issue has affected all americans across the country. we know in policing there has ofn a bias in terms african-americans and bias against latinos in the way policing is enforced. latinos support the police, because they support public safety. but they support it when it is done in a way that is not bias or discriminatory. there needs to be a conversation in this country as to how do we ensure the public safety of all americans in a way that does not inow bias to express itself

ways of violence against a particular population group assuming someone is a criminal merely by the color of their skin or the language they speak. i think there should be some consideration of how do we ensure all of us can live in a society that is safe and free of that kind of bias. host: if you are asked on twitter this morning on that topic, would you go as far as the whole issue of defunding the police? guest: i don't think the conversation should be to defund police departments. i think it should be a conversation of how do we use are -- thats that have policed parts that are protecting and serving, how we have people and professionals in the mental health field that are providing services to people who have mental health needs? people who have other kinds of needs for which police are being

forced to respond? i think there should be a conversation of how do we use our resources to make sure we have adequate responses to the needs of the community? from new jersey, latino voter. caller: long tidewater, first time caller. timeme watcher, first caller. just like the black vote in the country, i don't think democrats should take the latino vote for granted. and to touch on defunding the police, it all stems from the fact they only receive six months to eight months of training. they only require recently -- because i was trying to be a cop over 10 years ago when i was 19 and was a permanent resident at the time. i could join the army, but not the police force. in stems from the fact they don't have any mental health training. if they incorporate that into

their training, how to deal with people in certain situations -- it is not always about them not listening and following orders, because when you start talking like that, that starts off. host: mr. vargas? guest: this is not one of the issues of which we focus on at naleo. we focus on making sure all latinos are able to participate in our democracy, but this is one of the conversations the country as having. i hope that the candidates for president, but also for congress and state legislative offices and local offices, include this issue in their campaigns. what is their vision for moving the country forward? as latinos are preparing to vote, all the candidates also listen to the concerns and priorities that latino voters have as they are preparing for the november election. host: the first part in the

comments was talking about the taking for granted the latino vote, particularly for the democratic candidates. is that a truism in your mind? guest: unfortunately latino voters have been taken advantage of by both political parties for years. the assumption that latinos would only vote democrat, never vote republican. the fact is latino voters overall tend to be ignored by candidates. many latinos live in states that are not considered battleground states, the candidates ignore latinos in those states. if we want lynn tino's to be engaged in this process -- if we want latinos to be engaged in this process, they need to be engaged in the process and understand the priorities latino voters have. both democrats and republicans need to do that and not assume latinos will vote a certain way. host: does your organization

endorse? a 50163o, we are nonprofit organization and are the irsed by of endorsing candidates. our mission is that latinos participate in whatever party they choose. those who choose to participate in my organization believe that participation is what is important. your ideology, your party affiliation is secondary. what is important first is that participate. host:host: at this stage of the campaign when it comes to joe biden, the presumptive democratic nominee, do you think he has directly addressed issues concerning latino voters? if he hasn't, what does he need to say? guest: he will have the perfect opportunity to do that if he accepts the invitation to speak at our national conference that we will hold virtually,, the 37th conference.

we invited the vice president, we invited president trump -- as we have every year. out of courtesy we always invite the president to speak. in election years we also invite the candidate. in miami we were joined by eight democrats seeking the presidential nomination of their party. we also invited the president, but he didn't join us. i'm looking forward to hearing from the vice president himself on august 6, if he accepts our invitation to address the membership of naleo. host: our guest is arturo vargas of the national association of latino elected and appointed officials. tracy from eagle point, oregon, republican line. caller: hi, thank you for taking my call. latino population here in oregon, you know.

i would think they would vote more republican because of their values. they are all about home, they are all about family. the democrats are about nothing to do with family. their whole platform is to get rid of the nuclear family. it's crazy to me why they are latinahis, but i think here,, you know, came that weren't already born here, for freedom. democrats are giving them is what they left and what they don't believe in. host: sorry about that. mr. vargas, go ahead. guest: i think the point the last caller was making is that all latino voters

into a single profile. we are a diverse population ideologically, geographically, ethnically from national origin. in vast majority of latinos this country are american-born. there is a smaller segment that is foreign-born today. what needs to happen is candidates need to understand the diversity of latinos and understand not one-size-fits-all. they need to understand and get to know latino voters in every state across the country, and understand that we are an important element of the electric, the economy -- the electorate, the economy, in the future of this country. host: does your organization focus on certain states during the election period? guest: because of limited resources we are forced to do

that. for our census work and our electoral work, we are working in california, arizona, texas, florida, north carolina, the mid-atlantic and northeast region. because we have partnerships with spanish language media we have a national footprint in getting our message out across the country. we also have a national network state,o members in every and are trying to ensure all of us work together to pull and push in the right direction to move the country forward. line.frank, democrats caller: my name is frank. i am an asian american, primarily burmese. i understand latino voters are a diverse group. they are still primarily democrat, the majority of them.

depends onis it the administration you are in state, andal, federal that determines the favorability of that particular group, republican, democrat, or what. i think she was wrong to say that republicans only concentrate on the family. are gaining ground because of donald. making the republicans look at the cut -- look bad because of this administration. it doesn't necessarily mean all areblicans are bad, there bad democrats, too. but we need to do, asian-americans and americans as a whole, is to unite the democratic party -- i am a democrat -- unite the democratic party to make a difference in this country and the world. host: thanks, caller.

mr. vargas, do you want to respond to any of that? guest: to reiterate there are latino republicans, latino democrats, latino independents. you can't assume exactly how a latino voter is going to express him or herself at the ballot box. you have to engage and convince a latino voters of your position. latino voters tend to be pretty sophisticated. they look beyond a candidate's affiliation,ical and really want to listen to what the candidate has to say about the issues important to us. republicanegon, line. caller: i was watching this. i am in oregon. my great-grandmother was tabitha of universitynder the illegal migrants and

people coming across have turned to meth. they caught a guy on the rodeo with 57 pounds of meth. it is terrible. host: what exactly would you like to address with our guest? caller: i would like to say, this is america and the french, the english, the irish -- and i'm french -- why do we have to be bilingual just spanish and english? english is the american language. to get a job in oregon you have to be bilingual, you can't just speak english. host: mr. vargas? guest: i am very proud to be , theof this country tradition of america that is a country of immigrants. all of us believing in the same values, that we are all created equal, that we can get along with each other as americans.

i am looking forward to leadership in this country that will bring us together and hopefully help us get out of this crisis of the covid-19 pandemic and put us on the right path for making sure all the vets are able to respect each other and work together -- all of us are able to respect each other and work together. host: arturo vargas joins us from los angeles. "washington journal" continues. from tim phillips joins us greenville, north carolina. good morning to you, sir. can you remind folks about your organization? guest: americans for prosperity is a nationwide grassroots organization with staff and volunteers across the country. we focus on knocking down the barriers holding people back from living fulfilling lives. a lot of the time that is government policy, which is what we are talking about