At LATV Town Hall, Senatorial Candidate Rep. Adam Schiff Promises to Show Up for Latinos

Congressman Adam Schiff is running for the open US senate seat in California. LATV studios organized a town hall event where the Democratic candidate engaged with questions from a live studio audience. Throughout the evening, Schiff provided insights into the pressing issues in Washington and proposed potential courses of action should he be elected.

“I’m fighting to make the economy work for everyone, to protect our planet and to protect our democracy,” Schiff says on air. “But the central issue to me really is the economy, which is simply not working for millions of people. And it’s not that people aren’t working. People are working. They’re working harder than ever. But too many just can’t get by.”

For Schiff, reform starts with equipping people with proper resources to actively participate in the economy.

When it comes to housing, Schiff thinks Californians need more options. There is simply not substantial supply to satisfy the need. Once in office, he plans to expand low-income housing credits to incentivize developers to build housing for the middle and lower classes. He will increase federal investment in housing and work to ratify a renter’s tax credit, which could alleviate increased rents and combat homelessness.

“When I was a kid, my father was a traveling salesman in the clothing business. He made $18,000 a year. And on the strength of that single income, my parents bought our first home for $18,000. It was a perfectly decent home in a perfectly decent neighborhood with perfectly decent public schools,” Schiff says. “I want to make that available for all Californians again…[so] that they can afford the American dream.”

Is the American Dream still alive? With the unacceptable state of the border, and the path to citizenship oftentimes out of reach, does this promise hold up for the current wave of Latino migrants seeking safety, prosperity, and the pursuit of happiness?

Although Schiff self-criticizes Democrats for failing to properly amend immigration policy when they had control of the House and the Senate, he will right that wrong and collaboratively take action for comprehensive reform once elected. Schiff will work alongside Senator Alex Padilla to protect Dreamers, outline pathways to citizenship, and descale detention centers separating families.

“We want to have immigration policy that is consistent with our values,” Schiff says. “The [Latino] community has so enriched the state and will continue enriching it. And the beauty I’ve always felt of California was in the mix of its people.”

Latino-owned small businesses are the fastest-growing segment of the American economy. California has especially seen the fruits of that labor. Schiff understands and wants to ensure those businesses and the people that make up those businesses are fairly served by the American judicial system. From healthcare to voting rights, Schiff will continue being a champion to the Latino community.

For Schiff, championing diversity (in companies and in society at large) is not just the right thing to do morally, but also serves the state economically. Companies and federal agencies require team members who speak different languages and understand the intricacies within cultural communities. This talent can be found right here on American soil.

“[Dreamers] graduate [from American universities], they get among the finest educations anywhere in the world. They want to stay,” Schiff says. “We kick them out of the country, which is economic craziness and just a boon to our competitors.”

Schiff believes there is bipartisan support to provide relief to DACA recipients. From his view, it’s a matter of having hard conversations in Washington to get the legislature written and executed.

It doesn’t help when individuals unknowingly consume biased, hateful media that unjustly characterizes ethnic factions of the American population. On both sides, disinformation on the internet has further polarized people—and on the basis of lies.

“There is tremendous disinformation out there. And even beyond disinformation, there is often such biased information,” Schiff says. “I’ve taken up … fighting back against some of these media moguls who are pushing out this hate. But I also think we’re going to have to teach young people to be better consumers of information, to be able to discern what’s true and not true.”

Censoring content is certainly a slippery slope. Is it on individuals to determine authentic content themselves, or is it on government agencies to ensure that content is authentic?

Decades ago, social media companies were granted congressional immunities because they were small start-ups. They are certainly not so small anymore; they have considerable media power. Schiff believes imposing regulations on these content incubators will help to mitigate disinformation and the growing hate we see online.

Fundamentally, the United States houses a diverse collection of overlapping communities. The problem is that each community is not treated equally.

“I’m going to continue to do everything I can to champion equality,” Schiff says. “I think you can measure a society based on how it treats its most vulnerable citizens and I don’t think you can find a more vulnerable community than the trans community, and particularly trans youth.”

The current dehumanizing of the LGBTQ+ community, for Schiff, is shameful. As an ally, he stands against this hate. As vice chair of Congress’ Equality Caucus, he has opposed blood donation laws that still discriminate against gay men and has supported legislature protecting same-sex couples looking to start families.

On his own electability, Schiff promises collaborative action.

“I think we … need people who know how to get things accomplished, who know how to work with others, and yes, work with others on the other side of the aisle, particularly in an era of very divided government,” he says.

In LATV’s Town Hall, Schiff also addressed the need for better childcare programs, affordable healthcare, gun reform, voting empowerment, progressive politics, and more on the moral and economic value of diversity.

Watch the whole special on the LATV+ app, out on February 14, 2024.