The newly appointed Puerto Rico Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights will hold its inaugural meeting via web conference and phone call on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. This will be the first time in the history of the Commission that a United States Territory will convene and collaborate to advise the agency on civil rights matters. This will also mark the first time a federal agency will hold a public meeting primarily in the Spanish language.
This committee was established at the request of Congress and is tasked with studying the pertinent civil rights issues in the territory in the same manner Commission advisory committees in the 50 states and the District of Columbia currently and successfully operate. The studies these committees conduct include advice and recommendations to the Commission that are used to inform laws and policies both at the federal and local levels.
The committee members are: Andrés Córdova (Chair); Frank Arenal; Ramón Barquin; Ariadna Godreau-Aubert; Charlotte Gossett Navarro; Manuel Iglesias-Beléndez; Sergio M. Marxuach; Cristina María Miranda Palacios; Ever Padilla Ruíz; José O. Olmos; Dan Santiago; and William Villafañe-Ramos.
Chair Andrés Córdova said: “As the Chair of the new Puerto Rico Advisory Committee, I invite members of the public and all who are interested in the civil rights issues facing Puerto Rico to join our inaugural meeting and our work to come. We invite you to share your concerns and ideas with us. Your input will be extremely valuable as we develop recommendations on civil rights issues affecting our communities.”
Chair Norma Cantú of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights said: “I am honored to be a part of this historical milestone for the Commission on Civil Rights and the nation as Puerto Rico becomes the first of the five recently authorized advisory committees to convene. My fellow Commissioners and I are eager to hear from the committee as they lift the civil rights issues the Americans of Puerto Rico are facing to the federal level.”
This meeting will take place in Spanish through Webex. If you need English interpretation, please call the Participant Line in English below:
Wednesday, April 20, 2022, 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Atlantic Time
Online access (video and audio in Spanish): https://tinyurl.com/2p843uce
Telephone access (audio only in Spanish): 800-360-9505; Access Code: 2762 113 0392#
English Language Participant Line: 1-877-222-5695; ID: 9611102
All committee meetings will be open to the public. Members of the public are strongly encouraged to participate either through oral public comment or by providing written testimony to vmoreno@usccr.gov. Details on upcoming meetings will be made available at https://www.federalregister.gov/. Meeting records will be posted on the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) database at https://tinyurl.com/y5hkbkhp.
vmoreno@usccr.gov