Remarks by Vice President Harris in a Univision Town Hall with Enrique Acevedo

Cox Pavilion
Las Vegas, Nevada

1:11 P.M. EDT

MR. ACEVEDO:  Madam Vice President, bienvenida.  Welcome.  (Applause.)

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you again for doing this.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  

MR. ACEVEDO: (Speaks Spanish.)  (No translation provided.

Madam Vice President, again, thank you, and welcome. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  I’m very happy to be with you.  Thank you.  Thank you to everyone for taking the time to have this conversation.  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Particularly this week, when we’re facing a — a national emergency.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  So, the — well, let me start by — Enrique, thank you and Univision and everyone who is here for this conversation.  It is (inaudible) —

 MR. ACEVEDO:  Let me — let me grab a microphone.  I’m sorry they didn’t mic you. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah, no.  It’s okay.

MR. ACEVEDO:  We’ll fix it quickly.  Thank you.  Thank you, ma’am. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Again, I thank everyone for taking the time to be here this evening and for this important conversation.  And to Univision and Enrique, thank you. 

You mentioned the hurricanes.  I’ll start by speaking to all of the people who are living in the Southeast corridor who have been so devastated by Hurricane Helene, Milton.  And I cannot stress enough the work that we have been doing around the clock to make sure that the federal resources are on the ground, in partnership with state and local leaders, to do the work of giving people the relief they need so immediately, plus a commitment to helping people in the long term. 

I do think that the crisis that we have just experienced and the ongoing effects of it, because of these hurricanes, are yet another example of the importance of having leadership at a moment of crisis who understands their role and responsibility. 

I think for too long in our country, especially over the last several years, there has been a suggestion that, frankly, I think is quite backward, that suggests that the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down, instead of the real strength of a leader being who you lift up. 

And in this crisis, like in so many issues that affect the people of our country, I think it is important that leadership recognizes the dignity to which each person is entitled, that leadership is about understanding the importance of lifting people up, understanding that the character of our country is such that we are a people who have ambitions, aspirations, dreams, goals for ourselves and our families and are entitled to have a leader who then invests in that, as opposed to a leader who is constantly trying to divide the country and have people pointing their fingers at each other, demeaning people.

And that, frankly, is a big contrast in this election.  This election is taking place in 26 days, and I very much believe that the American people are being presented with two very different visions for our country. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  And we will — we’ll talk about those visions today.  (Inaudible) —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And I look forward to this conversation, because I do believe — and I’ll just close with this, and then, please —

MR. ACEVEDO:  Of course, ma’am.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — is that the two visions, simply put, are that one is about the future and the other is about the past and taking us backward.  And I do believe that the American people are ambitious and aspirational about an investment in the future in a way that we are optimistic while being clear-eyed. 

So, I’m honored to be here to have this conversation, and I look forward to any questions.  Thank you.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you so much.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Muchas gracias.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  And our thoughts and prayers, of course, are — are with the families affected, the people living in the affected area, like Ramiro.  Ramiro Gonzalez, our first question, he’s in construction.  He lives in Tampa. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  His home is there.  (Speaks Spanish.)

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.) 

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I spent the night watching the news about Hurricane Milton.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  We had another hurricane just two weeks ago —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  — Helene.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I’ve heard rumors that the administration didn’t do enough in terms of relief for families affected by Helene.  What would your administration do differently in the case of Milton?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, first of all, thank you for the question.  And I hope your family is okay —

     Q    They are.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — and your home is okay. 

     Q    Yes, they are, ma’am.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  So, there has been a lot of mis- and disinformation about what we have been doing over the last two weeks and what we are going to do going forward.  And I have to stress that this is not a time for people to play politics. 

You know, I started my career as a prosecutor, and when I worked doing that job of my goal of keeping people safe, I never asked a witness or a victim of crime, “Are you a Republican?  Are you a Democrat?”  The only question I ever asked is, “Are you okay?”

And sadly, we have seen, over the last two weeks since Hurricane Helene, and now in the immediate aftermath of Milton, where people are playing political games, suggesting that — that resources and support is only going to certain people based on a political agenda.  And this is just not accurate. 

I have been working over the course of the last couple of years — not even a couple of years; my whole career — but couple of weeks with people on the ground in Georgia, in North Carolina, in Florida, in the Southeast corridor — Republicans, Democrats — to work in getting relief that is about bringing FEMA resources on the ground, reminding people that they are entitled to relief.  Don’t listen to anyone who says that you’re not entitled.

Doing the work — I was just on a — a secure meeting today with the president, with the secretary of Defense, with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, with the head of the Coast Guard, with the general representing NORTHCOM, talking about how the federal, state, and local governments are working together for the benefit of the people on the ground. 

Another piece of work that I’ve been doing — it’s based on my years of being an attorney general in California — is telling those corporations and those companies that, during crisis and emergencies, jack up prices — and I’ve seen it happen before — that we’re watching them.  And at a moment of — of desperation for these individuals and families, whether it be to be able to get temporary shelter at a hotel, for gas prices, for even airline tickets, that we’ll be watching, if they’re jacking up prices, to make sure there’ll be serious consequence.  And that’s the kind of work I will do going forward. 

I have spent my career — the vast majority of my career concerning myself with the safety and well-being of people.  And I promise you and I pledge to, as president, I will continue to do that. 

You have a right to know that your government and its leaders are putting you first and not themselves. 

     Q    Thank you, Madam Vice President.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, Ramiro.  Our next question is over here.  Yvette Castillo, she lives here in Vegas.  (Speaks Spanish.)  She wants to share a personal story, Madam Vice President.

     Q    Hi.  Buenas noches, Vicepresidenta —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

     Q    — Harris.  (Speaks Spanish.)  You and I have something in common.  We both lost our mother. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Aw —

     Q    And I’m an American citizen, born to two Mexican parents.  They were here before I was even born.  They have worked their whole lives.  But with the way immigration laws change over time, I was only able to help my dad get his legal status squared away but not my mom’s.  My mom passed away just six weeks ago. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I’m so sorry. 

     Q    And she was never, ever able to get the type of care and service that she needed or deserved.  (Cries.)  Sorry. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Take your time.  Take your time. 

     Q    So, my question for you is: What are your plans or do you have plans to support that subgroup of immigrants who have been here their whole lives or most of them and have to live and die in the shadows?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m so sorry for you. 

     Q    Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  You must remember your mother as she lived.  I have enou- — I have enough of a feeling about your strength that it probably comes from her to know she would want you to remember her as she lived and not as she died.  Okay?

     Q    Mm-hmm.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, let’s take it one step at a time. 

Your parents were here for years, it sounds like.  And your father was able to earn his pathway to citizenship, but your mother was not.  And I’m going to assume it’s because part of the problem is that we do have a broken immigration system, including it being the case that even though, when we were elected in 2020, and the first bill we offered Congress — before we did the bipartisan infrastructure bill, before we did the work on gun safety, before we did the work on investing in chips and science — the first bill we offered within hours of taking the oath was a bill to fix the immigration system, including creating a comprehensive earned pathway to citizenship for hardworking people.  And it was not taken up. 

And now we look at a situation where people are suffering.  The reality is that, in terms of having access to health care, had your mother been able to gain citizenship, she would have been entitled to health care that may have alleviated her suffering and yours. 

And this is one example of the fact that there are real people who are suffering because of an inability to put solutions in front of politics. 

I mean, an example of this on immigration policy is that, as it relates to what we need to do to strengthen our border, a bipartisan group of members of Congress, including one of the most conservative members of the United States Senate, came together with one of the strongest border security bills we’ve had in decades. 

And it included 1,500 more border agents to go to the border to help those hardworking folks who are working around the clock.  The border agents supported the bill.  It included more resources to stem the flow of fentanyl, which is killing people of every background in every region of our country.  It would have allowed us to have more resources to take on transnational criminal organizations.  I have prosecuted transnational criminal organizations, from the Guadalajara Cartel to the Sinaloa Cartel.

And Donald Trump found out about that bill, realized it would be a solution, and told them not to put it on the floor for a vote, because he would prefer to run on a problem instead of fixing a problem. 

And, again, Enrique, we were talking about it.  Wh- — in terms of real leadership, real leadership is about solving problems on behalf of the people. 

 And I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.  I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through.  And, you know, my mother came to the United States at the age of 19.  She was by herself — came alone by herself.  She raised my sister and me — Maya.  And I know what it is like to have a hardworking mother who loves you and to lose that.  But I know that her spirit is alive.  I know her spirit is alive. 

And will you tell me her name?  And let’s speak her name. 

     Q    Maria Dolore- — (voice breaks) — sorry.  Maria Dolores Figueroa. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Maria Dolores?

     Q    Mm-hmm.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  We speak her name.  Okay?

     Q    Yes.  Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  All right.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Muchas gracias, Yvette.  Thank you so much, Madam Vice President. 

We have Francisco Medina here with me.  (Speaks Spanish.)  He comes from San Diego, California, and has a question about access to health care.  (Speaks Spanish.)  Gracias, Francisco.

     Q    Very nice to meet you.  Thank you for being here. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Of course.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I have an injury in my knee.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I work for the Department of Defense, and supposedly we have very good health care.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  But the time to see a specialist are just simply ridiculous. 

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  Dos años?

     Q    Dos años.  (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  Finally, after two years, I was able to get an MRI.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  But I had to wait for a month to start rehab.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  So, I went across the border to Tijuana, Mexico, and in less than 45 minutes, I was already seeing in a specialist and having rehab.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

 MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  What’s your plan to improve the health care system?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, are you fe- — I hope you’re feeling better now.  I’m sorry it took so long for you to get the su- — the support you needed. 

I firmly and deeply believe that access to health care is a right and should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it or have access to it easily.  It should be something that we make accessible to all people. 

 Again, it gets back to my earlier point.  It’s about the dignity of people and about the importance of doing what we can as leaders to alleviate suffering.  Right? 

 You know, when I — when I say earlier about what I think is backwards in terms of this thinking that it’s a sign of strength to beat people down, part of the backward nature of those kinds of thinking is to suggest that empathy — right? — is somehow a weakness — empathy, meaning to have some level of care and concern about the suffering of other people and then do something to lift that up. 

 A lot of the work that I have done over the years, including as vice president now for almost four years, has been to address what we need to do to strengthen our health care system, whether it be what we do to strengthen the Affordable Care Act to make sure more people have coverage, to what we have done, which is we finally have capped the cost of insulin, for example, at $35 a month. 

I don’t know if this is interactive enough, if I can ask anyone: Raise your hand if you have a family member with diabetes.  I — right?  And seniors and what — Latinos are 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes.  And so, when we capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month, what that means is it — it’s the story I hear constantly, including recently, from a woman here in Las Vegas, which is finally her mother can afford to fill her prescription for insulin instead of trying to make it last for a longer period of time, even though that’s going to lead to her health condition worsening. 

The work we have done has been about capping the cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000.  My intention, as president of the United States, is to now make that available not just for seniors but for everyone.  The work that we must do is about understanding health care is a right and should not just be a privilege of those who have access to it. 

 Again, this is an election.  That’s why we’re here, because we have an election coming up.  There’s a big contrast between me and Donald Trump. 

When he was president of the United States, he and his friends 60 times tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.  You remember what it was like before the Affordable Care Act?  Preexisting conditions — when an insurance company could deny you access to health care for a preexisting condition, which could include asthma — your child has asthma; a survivor of breast cancer; diabetes.  I mean, some would argue being a woman was a preexisting condition under that plan.  Tried to get rid of it. 

I — I urge everyone to look up Project 2025, which is his plan if he is elected president again.  Google it.  And you’ll see the plan that he has that includes getting rid of Medicare, Social Security, and all of those things that are to the benefit of, again, the basic dignity of all people and, in particular, working people. 

Look, I come from the middle class.  My mother was a working woman who raised me and my sister.  My mother was able to finally af- — she saved up to be able to afford to buy a home by the time I was a teenager. 

I know everyone has ambition, works hard, has aspirations, but doesn’t necessarily have all the resources that other people have.  Access to health care should not be a function of how much money you have in your back pocket. 

That’s how I think about the health care system, including what we need to do to make sure that someone like you, who has dedicated yourself to our country and your work, has access and doesn’t have to go to another country to get what you need. 

     Q    Gracias. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, Francisco. 

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you, Madam Vice President. 

Over a million disability applications are stuck in our Social Security system.  And Martha Rodriguez has a question about that. 

     (Speaks Spanish).

     Q    Good evening —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening. 

     Q    — Vice President Harris.  My name is Martha.  I’m 62 years old and currently homeless.  In 2020, I had a heart attack.  Then I got diagnosed with long COVID, which will disable me for the rest of my life. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     Q    I lost my job, my income.  I had no choice but to apply for Social Security disability.  It’s been three years I’ve been waiting for a decision.  Because of no income, I lost everything.  I have no health insurance.  I can’t get medical treatment that I need.  And my question for you is: How will you help the disabled people —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     Q    — so that they can get insurance —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     Q    — and make America great again?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through.  Your point about long COVID, finally — I was actually part of pushing to make sure that long COVID is now recognized under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  So, it is now recognized as being a disability for the purposes of allowing you and people who have long COVID to be eligible for disability benefits.  And that’s a very big point.

As it relates to disability rights as a general matter, it’s something I’ve worked on for years.  The point just being very simple, frankly, which is that all people, regardless of disability, should have equal access to housing, to job opportunities, to education, and, again, to dignity.  And there’s still a lot of work that we have to do in that regard. 

What we have to do in terms of also making sure that somebody who experiences an acute illness does not lose everything is still work we have to do.  Part of the work that I have been doing and intend to do as president includes, for example, dealing with the issue of medical debt.  So, this is a big issue, which is people, through no fault of their own, experience a serious illness, and then they acquire all these bills and debt. 

Right now, the system is that that medical debt can be used against your credit score — your credit score.  Everybody knows their credit score.  It’s like — kind of like you know your weight, you know your credit score, right? 

So, your credit score, as we know, will determine your eligibility for everything from a small-business loan to whether you qualify for a lease on an apartment.  The unfairness of it — and this is what I intend to change — is that medical debt is not a measure of how responsible you are with money.  It’s about the fact that you experienced an emergency for which you did not plan because you did not invite it, and then it works against people’s ability to do things like get an apartment. 

So, there are a number of issues that I think you’re raising around how we have to see the full person and understand how one thing connects to another, because, as you have explained, a health issue that then results in an issue about, literally, housing and whether you are unhoused; an issue that is about what you qualify in terms of benefits, again, to be able to live with dignity and have a — a quality of life to which you are entitled after what I can tell are years of working hard. 

     Q    I worked for 45 years before I got sick, and to be waiting so long —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     Q    And all they can say is it’s because of the pandemic. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you so much, Martha.

     Q    Pandem- — thank you. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you. 

     Q    I hope you address this. 

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I will, and I’ll remember your story. 

     Q    Thank you.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay?

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you, Martha.  Thank you, Madam Vice President. 

Our next question comes over here from Mario Sigbaum.  He was born in Uruguay but became a U.S. citizen 28 years ago.  He lives in California.  Mario, (speaks Spanish).

     Q    Sí.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Tu pregunta, por favor.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I’m reg- — registered as an independent.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I voted Democrat and Republican, but I’m confused right now.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  You became a candidate without going through the primary sort of caucus, like it usually happens.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I’m right now leaning towards Trump, but I haven’t made a decision.  I’m also concerned about the way I feel President Biden was pushed aside.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh. 

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I think it’s extraordinary circumstances, given how close we are to the election. 

     (Speaks Spanish.)  (Laughs.)  The question, Mario.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  How do you respond to this process and how you —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Sure.  And —

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  — how you got the candidacy?

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  First of all, thank you for being so candid and allowing me to answer the question.  Thank you.

President Biden made a decision that I think history will show was probably one of the most courageous that a president could make, which is he decided to put country above his personal interest.  And he made that decision.  He very — within that same period of time, supported my candidacy and urged me to run.  He and I have been partners for the last four years as his vice president to — to him as the president.

And I am honored to have earned the Democratic nomination.  I am honored to have the endorsement of people from every walk of life.  You will probably find that I probably have a bigger coalition of people who couldn’t seem to be more different than each other, who have come together around my candidacy — from 200 Republicans who worked with and for both Presidents Bush, John McCain, Mitt Romney; including Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman, and her father, the former vice president, Dick Cheney, who is supporting me; former members — very esteemed members, including generals, of the national security community.  I have the endorsement and support of Alberto G- — Gonzales, most recently, who, of course, was attorney general. 

I have the support of people from every background, and I believe this is the reason why: It is incredibly important — and I know you and I can see you are a patriot — that we have the president of the United States who honors the oath that they take to support the Constitution of the United States. 

There is a huge contrast in this election.  Donald Trump has said he will be a dictator on day one.  Many people come from backgrounds and countries of origin, and we know what that means when you’re talking about someone who wants to be president of the United States and wants to be a dictator and what that means in terms of taking freedoms from their people. 

Donald Trump has said he would weaponize the Department of Justice against his political enemies.  I urge you to look at Project 2025, and you will see.  He will strip the Department of Justice of its independence and put in and hire across the board, instead of career public servants, his people, who are his loyalists. 

Donald Trump said he would — and I’m using a quotation — “terminate” the Constitution of the United States.  Imagine.  The Constitution of the United States, which guarantees the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure by a government on you; the Fifth Amendment; the Sixth Amendment. 

So, I believe that the stakes right now are extraordinarily high and potentially — some might say, historians have said — unprecedented.  And so, maybe the whole situation, including your point, is a bit unprecedented, but this is an unusual time, where we are literally having a choice, as the American people, about choosing a path either that is about rule of law, democracy, or something that is about admiring dictators and autocracy. 

Did you see the most recent report about the COVID — we talked about COVID — the COVID test?  The most recent report: Donald Trump, according to that report, during the height of COVID — I’m sure there are people here who have family members or friends who died, and he secretly shipped off COVID tests to Vladimir Putin of Russia, when people by the hundreds were dying every day. 

D- — President Biden and I would work on it, because disproportionately Latinos and African Americans were dying. 

So, I present that to you, sir, to say this is an extraordinary time.  It’s an extraordinary time.  And what is being presented to the voters of America right now is a real choice and a real difference — so fundamental.  This is not about a debate on trickle-down economic theory.  It’s literally about: Do we support our democracy and the Constitution of the United States, or are we going to go on the path of somebody who is a sore loser and lost the election in 2020 and tried to have a violent mob undo it?  A violent mob that attacked the United States Capitol, that injured 140 uniformed law enforcement officers — some died — to undo the will of the American people in a free and fair election. 

And I think, frankly, sir, that is why some former Trump supporters are supporting me.  I think January 6th, for a lot of people, was just a bridge too far.  It was just one step too far. 

So, I hope to earn your vote, and I thank you for your candor.  Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, Mario. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you, Madam Vice President. 

We’re going to try to get to as many questions as possible.  We’re just going to take a quick break.

(Speaks Spanish.)

(Commercial break.)

(Speaks Spanish.)

We’re back.  And, Madam Vice President, our next question comes from Arizona — from Yuma, Arizona, Carlos Garcia.

(Speaks Spanish.)

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I come from Yuma, Arizona.  And, as you know, your opponent has accused you of allowing the border to be out of control, as well as undocumented immigration.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I’ve seen Border Patrol agents exhausted from working long hours.  I’ve seen fear in my community, as well as the borders are closed for us living across the border and inside.

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

     Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

     MR. ACEVEDO:  Border crossings, I should correct. 

(Interpreting.)  What would you do differently from what’s been done in the Biden administration to make sure that the border is secure and orderly?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you, and thank you for the question.  And I was just recently in Arizona, at the border. 

Let me start with this.  Perhaps what distinguishes me from at least a couple of people: I was the top law enforcement officer of the biggest state in this country, California, that is also a border state.  I have taken on transnational criminal organizations.  I have taken on crim- — transnational criminal organizations that traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings, and I have prosecuted them. 

I led a bipartisan group of attorneys general — American attorneys general to Mexico City to work with Mexican attorneys general to combine intelligence and resources to prosecute those cases, including what was going south as well as what was coming north. 

So, I will put my record up against anyone in terms of the work I have always done and will always do to ensure we have a secure border, which is why I also mention, then, in the context of an earlier question, the point about the border security bill. 

So, I was just in Arizona at the border.  I spoke with the Border Patrol leaders there.  They are wor- — to your point, they’re working around the clock, and they need more support.  Fifteen hundred more border agents would have gone to the border — except Donald Trump got in the way of that bill — many months ago, which would mean those many months of more resources going to help those very agents you are talking about; many months of what could have been happening right now in terms of putting resources into fentanyl and stopping the flow of fentanyl, which we know is killing people every day in America; the trafficking issue — and, again, work I have done and care deeply about. 

So, my pledge to you is that, by the grace of God, and hopefully with your support as well, when I am elected president, I will bring back that border security bill, and I will sign it into law and do the work of focusing on what we must do to have a orderly and humane pathway to earned citizenship for hardworking people.  I think it is a false choice for people who would say you do one or the other.  I believe we must do both.  I believe we can do both.

And my pledge to you is to work on that.  The solutions are at hand.  We need the political will. 

And I thank you for the question. 

Q    Thank you. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you, Carlos.  Gracias, Carlos.  And thank you, Madam Vice President. 

Our next question is over here.  Jesús Aispuro is voting for the first time —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Oh.

     MR. ACEVEDO:  in November.  (Speaks Spanish).

Q    So, good — good evening.  My name is Jesús.  So, it’s been a couple years since I’ve gone out of college, and in that time, I actually met a lot of people, a lot of classmates — a lot of classmates that became friends.  And, yeah, one thing that — that happened in that time is a lot of them were talking, feeling this theme of fear.  And a lot of them — a lot of these classmates were actual DREAMers.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    And, you know, they had to live day by day and —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    — you know, have that — that fear in them. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.

Q    So, my question to you is, how would you get these students under DACA the opportunity and citizenship to — to continue?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  And congratulations on being a first-time voter.  That’s wonderful.  Your voice is your vote.  And this is, again, part of the point of a democracy.  As long as we can hold on to a democracy, each individual has the ability and the power to determine the course of our country through your vote and so many other ways. 

So, our DREAMers — this is, again, a very big example of what the price is to pay for a broken immigration system.  Our DREAMers, who you know — and they are friends, classmates, former classmates of yours — children who — who came very young to the United States, who have worked hard, who have built up a productive life, who are in universities, who are working in Fortune 500 companies, who are serving in our military — serving in our military, prepared to die for the sake of our country and what we stand for. 

And one of the biggest problems with failure to have a — a comprehensive plan for immigration is that we have not given them the pathway to earn their right to citizenship.  And that is — again, that is one of the priorities for me, frankly, in terms of my motivation for what I know we must do.  And they’re afraid.  They’re constantly worried. 

I mean, there are court cases still where these young people — you know, now we’re looking at millennials, some of them — right? — but who are still afraid.  I — it pains me.  I know many of them who are still afraid somebody might come knocking on their door. 

And I just think it’s important that we recognize who this population of young people are and agree that they have been so productive; they are prepared to do what is necessary by law.  And I think it’s — I think it should compel us to agree they should not have to live in fear but should have an ability to be on a pathway to earn their citizenship. 

So, it is one of my priorities.  And I’ve worked on this in terms of DREAMers for many, many years, and I’ll continue to fight for them. 

And thank you for the question.  Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, Jesús. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, vicepresidenta.  Thank you so much. 

     We’re going to take a quick break again.  (Speaks Spanish.) 

(Commercial break.)

(Speaks Spanish.) 

     Madam Vice President, our next question comes from Wendy Solares.  Wendy lives in Los Angeles.  Her parents are Mexican.  (Speaks Spanish.)

Q    Buenas noches, vicepresidenta. (Speaks Spanish.) 

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I come as a mother.  It’s my husband, my five daughters, and my parents living — living with us at home. 

Q    Sí. (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I’ve watched on the news that the cost of life has improved, but when I go to the grocery store, prices are up. 

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  So, we went from spending $200 to over $350 in groceries.

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  The same goes for utilities like —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Water.

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  — water and energy and clothes.

Q    Sí.  (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I am a middle-class working woman, and you said we’re ambitious, but it’s hard to maintain that ambition when the conditions are so — so hard, so challenging. 

Q    Yes.  (Speaks Spanish.) 

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  How are you going to make sure that the cost of life doesn’t destroy the — the middle class?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you for the question.  And your point — listen, I know prices are too high still.  You know prices are too high still.  And we have to deal with it. 

Here’s how I feel about it.  Again, you’ve heard my story.  I — I come from the working class.  I’m never going to forget where I come from.  And part of what we have to do is build what I call an opportunity economy, where people have the opportunity, like you have described, for you to be able to work hard and your five daughters have an opportunity to then do what they and what you aspire for them to be able to do without having to worry about just getting by.  I want you to be able to get ahead. 

So, here’s my plan.  It includes what we need to do to bring down the cost of, for example, groceries.  One of the issues I’m going to be taking on is price gouging, which is these corporations and companies who jack up prices unnecessarily, usually around people who are desperate.  It’s going to be about bringing down the cost of living. 

For example, part of my plan is to expand the Child Tax Credit so that young families will get $6,000 during the first year of their child’s life to help them be able to buy a crib, a car seat, the clothes, the things that they need during that critical stage of their child’s development. 

Housing — from Los Angeles — you know, I live in Los Angeles too.  Okay.  So, L.A. — all over the country, we know we have a housing shortage, and it’s jacking up the price of housing, both for buying and renting. 

Part of my plan is to work with the private sector.  Listen, I’m a capitalist.  I believe in the — the strength of the private sector to create jobs and to work with government to strengthen the economy.  Part of my plan is to work with developers and builders to build 3 million more housing before the end of my first term. 

And my plan is to give first-time homebuyers a $25,000 down payment assistance to be able to just get their foot in the door to buy a home, which is the source, as you know, of intergenerational wealth.  When you have a home, when you have home ownership, that’s how you build up capital and equity that you can use then for other purposes. 

My plan includes small businesses. 

You know, so, growing up, we lived on — we lived in an apartment above a childcare center, which was owned by the woman that helped my mother raise us.  We called her our second mother.  She was a small-business owner. 

I know who our small businesses are, and they are — they are business leaders.  They are civic leaders.  They are community leaders.  They hire locally.  They mentor.  And they need more support. 

Small businesses are part of the backbone of America’s economy.  Part of my plan is for start-up small businesses — the — the tax deduction right now is $5,000, to extend it to $50,000 knowing what that will mean to tap into the ambition and the aspirations that people have; knowing that — unlike my opponent, who got handed $400 million on a silver tray and filed for bankruptcy six times — most people don’t have that access to the wealth that is necessary for them to start a small business, but when they do, it’s to their economic benefit as well as the economic benefit of the community. 

So, these are just some of my plans.  But there’s another one that’s more specific to, I think, your circumstance, and it’s about also dealing with the sandwich generation.  This is what we call people, like how you have described your life — people who are raising young children and taking care of their elder parents, and so they call it the sandwich generation because they’re kind of in between. 

And, you know, when my mother was sick, I took care of her.  And it’s — and I hope your parents are — are well and healthy, but when you are taking care of someone who is older — and for my mother, I mean, that meant trying to cook what — she had a taste for eating.  It meant trying to give her soft enough clothes that wouldn’t irritate her skin, make her try to laugh, you know, then bring a smile to her face. 

And taking care of someone in that situation, it — it takes a lot out of people.  And if you are raising young children at the same time and if you want to work, it’s almost impossible to do it all.  And so many people in that situation are having to leave the workforce — jobs they may love — because there’s no way they can do it all. 

So, here’s my plan — and I just made an announcement about it — to allow Medicare to cover the cost of home health care for seniors.  Medicare now doesn’t do it.  Now the situation is that that family or that individual would have to almost go broke and lose everything to apply for Medicaid.  I’m saying, no, this is a matter of dignity.  It’s born out of a personal experience.  Let’s Medicare cover that so that you can have the home care that allows your — your parents to stay with you or stay in their own home and have the dignity of doing that, but have somebody there who you don’t have to break your savings, who can be there to prepare a meal for them or help them put on their sweater. 

So, these are some of my plans, and the way I think about it is all of this is about building opportunity for people and, in particular, the middle class.  Seeing people as a whole human being, knowing that when you just lift up a little bit of the — the weight, people thrive and we all benefit.  And so, that’s how I think about the economy. 

But we — we got to bring down prices, but we’re still — the — the last numbers — just today, I think it was — inflation is now down to 2.4.  So, the — you know, we call it the macroeconomic numbers are looking good, but it still doesn’t change the experience you’re having at the grocery store, and we still need to deal with that. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias. 

Q    Thank you.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Speaks Spanish.) 

     We’re going to make a quick break.  

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.

MR. ACEVEDO:  We’re on our last segment.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Okay.

MR. ACEVEDO:  We’re going to try to get to as many questions as possible.  (Speaks Spanish.) 

(Commercial break.) 

(Speaks Spanish.)  We’re back.  Madam Vice President, we have our next question over here.  Cristian Galván comes from Wisconsin and has a question about reproductive health.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Speaks Spanish.)

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  As a woman, which is the biggest pride in my life, I have a daughter.  I would like to ask you, what difference would it make if you become the first female president, and what laws would you enact to make sure abortion is regularizado — regular- — regularized?

     That’s the term she used. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Thank you. 

     So, we are in a situation right now where there are at least 20 states that have Trump abortion bans, because when Donald Trump was president of the United States, he hand-selected three members of the United States Supreme Court with the intention that they would undo the protections of Roe v. Wade. 

     They did as he intended, and now in these states, we see bans that criminalize doctors and nurses — in Texas, up to prison and life for a doctor or nurse; laws that make no exception for rape or incest, which means you’re telling a survivor of a crime of a violation to their body that they have no right to make a decision about what happens to their body next, which is immoral. 

And what I know is, I think most people believe that we should agree you don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree the government should not be telling her what to do with her body.  If she chooses, she will talk with her priest, her pastor, her rabbi, her imam, but not the government telling people what to do with their own body.  And I feel very strongly about this.

Our daughter is going to have fewer rights than my mother-in-law in this year of our Lord 2024.  And when we talk about what makes for what is right and what is wrong, I think we agree that there are certain decisions, especially over heart and home, that the government should just not be making for us, that we can make them for ourselves.  And so, I feel very strongly about this.

And I’ll tell you, there are probably many people here and watching who rightly have made a decision that they do not believe in abortion.  The point that I am making is not about changing their mind about what’s right for them or their family, it’s simply saying the government shouldn’t be making this decision. 

And the other point I would make is this: What I’m learning as I travel the country on this issue is that people are realizing they may — some who feel firmly about abortion — that they are against it — didn’t realize that what’s happening because of these laws and what Donald Trump did includes that people who are trying to get in vitro fertilization treatment, IVF, are finding it more difficult or being denied. 

What people aren’t realizing is because of these laws, women are having miscarriages in parking lots.  Women are being — I know I’ve met women who wanted to have a baby; they — with their husband — go then, out of an emergency because they’re having a miscarriage, to a hospital and denied care because the doctors there are concerned they may be put in jail.  I’ve met a couple of them who developed sepsis because they were denied care because of these laws. 

So, as president of the United States — and if I am elected as the first woman president of the United States — I will proudly sign back into law the protections of Roe v. Wade, which basically just says it’s the person’s decision, not the government’s decision.  That, in essence, is what’s behind my position. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Gracias, Cristian.

Q    Thank you. 

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you so much.  Our last question, Teresa, please go ahead. 

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I would like to ask you something more personal, putting politics aside.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Yeah.  Sure.

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  How do you value people who you don’t agree with?

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  I think in Washington there are many.  (Laughter.)

Q    (Speaks Spanish.)

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Interpreting.)  Could you mention three virtues of President Donald Trump?

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, thank you for the question.  (Laughter.) 

I — let me start with this.  I — I — basic — based on a life experience, I know that the vast majority of us have so much more in common than what separates us.  And part of what pains me is the approach that, frankly, Donald Trump and some others have taken, which is to suggest that it’s us versus them, whoever that may be, and having Americans point fingers at each other, using language that’s about belittling people and calling them names and meant to make them afraid and — and live in fear. 

     I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation, and I don’t admire that.  And, in fact, I’m quite critical of it coming from someone who wants to be president of the United States. 

I think he — I think Donald Trump loves his family, and I think that’s very important.  I think family is one of the most important things that we can prioritize. 

But I don’t really know him, to be honest with you.  I only met him one time, on the debate stage.  I’d never met him before, so I don’t really have much more to offer you.  (Laughter.) 

But with the — with the remaining time I have — (laughs) —

MR. ACEVEDO:  Yes, ma’am.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — one of the things that occurred to me in terms of the previous question, I invite anyone who’s interested in my policy perspective to go on to KamalaHarris.com.  It’s my website, and you’ll see I have 80 pages of — of my policies as it relates to the economy, health care — we talked about that — and so many other things. 

And I invite anyone, if you’re interested in more detail, please go there to see that.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you so much.  Madam Vice President —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  — thank you so much for this time, and thank you so much for having this —

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  — historic conversation with undecided Latino voters. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Speaks Spanish.)

Thank you, again, for responding to their questions.

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you all.   

MR. ACEVEDO:  (Speaks Spanish.)  (No translation provided.)

Good night.  Thank you so much. 

THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you so much.  Thank you again.

MR. ACEVEDO:  Thank you, Madam Vice President.  (Applause.)

                        END                2:12 P.M. PDT