Kaine highlights key priorities at Summit of The Americas

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 9-10, 2022, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine—who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civil Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues—participated in the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, California.

Kaine delivered the keynote address at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Dialogue on Integration of Migrants and Refugees in the Americas event, where he celebrated Virginia’s diverse communities, emphasized the ways in which immigrants strengthen communities, and discussed the need to fix America’s broken immigration system. “We have to continue our heritage as a nation of immigrants and make our immigration system work again because the factors behind people leaving their countries in this region are complex and global rather than limited to the geography of a particular country. We have to envision solutions together,” Kaine said at the event.

Kaine continued, “Estamos conectados—todos somos Americanos—y necesitamos soluciones que ayuden a todos en el hemisferio. As a member of the U.S. Senate, I’m going to do all I can to convince my colleagues to embrace a new immigration partnership with all of you, partner countries, advocates, and civil society. We all have a stake in a safe and vibrant Americas.”

Kaine also shared key takeaways from his trip during his remarks at a press conference with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other House members, in which he said: “This Summit, four years ago, the President of the United States decided it wasn’t worth coming. But here in Los Angeles, we’re not only hosting—the President, the Vice President, the Speaker, the Secretary of State, other Cabinet Secretaries, other agency heads, a great delegation from Congress—we’re present.”

Kaine concluded, “My hope is—and especially with the President’s announcement this afternoon about this L.A. Charter on migration and the integration of migrants—this is just one more step forward to show that the U.S. is very present, and is going to be increasingly present with our compañeros, with our vecinos, porque somos Americanos todos.”

Kaine will continue conversations with foreign leaders throughout the day before the summit concludes, and identify opportunities to advance American interests and values across the region.