The 2022 Hispanic Leadership Summit kicked off on Dec. 7, in New York City. During the first day of the two-day event, Henry Cisneros, Chairman of American Triple I, provided the afternoon keynote address. 

In his speech, Cisneros discussed how the Latino population is growing in the U.S. and the impact it's having. 

“Today, Latinos are almost 60 million in the United States in a country of 320 million people, roughly. By 2040, that population of 60 million Latinos will be 100 million. So an increase of about 40 million people. The country during that time will grow from 320 million to 400 million. That’s an increase of 80 million. So the growth of Latinos, the 40 million, is one half of the total growth that will occur in the United States. This is not a marginal population,” he said.

Cisneros pointed out that while the U.S. is an aging country, its Latino community is young. 

“As a country ages, which our country is aging, and its industries mature, it needs the infusion of new energy, new talents, new ambitions, and the Latino-American population is the source of that new energy and that talent.” 

One place this can be seen is in the amount of small businesses started in the Latino community. According to Cisneros, Latino-owned small businesses make up the fastest growing segment of businesses in America, most being owned by Latinas. 

He also highlighted the role Latinos played in the midterm elections, citing specific races in Arizona and Georgia. 

He then emphasized the need for political empowerment. “[We need] to elect people bipartisanly — Democrats and Republicans — we need to play in both arenas and elect people from city council members and school board members, county commissioners and state representatives and the governors and Senators. And yes, soon a President of the United States that's going to happen.”  

He finished his speech with a call to action on immigration. 

“We cannot stand by and watch the issue of immigration continue to divide the country. We know there are solutions to the immigration issue. Yes, there needs to be protections along the border. But there also needs to be legalization of the 12 million people who are here, had been working and been here for generations, and who deserved to be legalized. And then we cannot have a permanent underclass in our country by leaving them legalized but not citizens, a path to citizens,” said Cisneros.