In March, in the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s legislative summit, President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the potential for Latino families and business owners to help drive the economic recovery because of the share of American workers who are Latino and the number of small businesses Latinos create.
“Hispanic entrepreneurs can lead us out of a crisis again,” Yellen said. “I know Hispanic workers can power our recovery, potentially in an even bigger way than a decade ago, so long as we remove the long-standing barriers that have been in your way.”
The largest Capital Injection into Latino Community
“This could be the biggest single injection of capital into the Latino community — by a factor of 10 — in history,” Tom Castro said. If all Latinos claimed what they are entitled to in the pandemic package and the paycheck loan program, he said the total could be nearly $60 billion.
Latinx Families were Scared
Many immigrant families stopped using public benefits or steered clear of them, even if they were eligible for them, fearing that Trump administration policy changes might jeopardize their legal permanent residency or citizenship chances. And the first aid package left out many immigrants who pay taxes.
Latinos were disproportionately hit by the pandemic. Before the Pandemic, Hispanics had just regained earnings and wealth at levels we had had before the Great Recession in 2008. Missing out on the aid could slow not only their recovery but also the economic 
recovery.
Stimulus Package Details:
- $1400 Check: A hard ceiling on income, designed to exclude higher earners from getting a check, comes with a rule change regarding the use of dependents in the stimulus check formula. Check out our stimulus payment calculator to see how the income cap affects you.
- Child Tax Credit: The new American Rescue Plan expands the child tax credit that currently allows families to claim a credit of up to $2,000 for children under 17. The plan extends the benefit to lower-income families who otherwise wouldn’t receive the tax credit. Families can claim as much as $3,600 per year for a child under 6; and up to $3,000 per year for those between 6 and 17.
- $300 in Additional Weekly Unemployment: Under the new legislation, federal unemployment checks have been extended to September 6 at a $300 weekly rate. The package also reduces the tax burden on households’ unemployment money, earning less than $150,000 a year. The new law renewed the weekly $300 federal unemployment checks, which would’ve expired March 14, without a gap in funding.
- Student Loan Forgiveness: In March, President Biden’s administration approved a $1 billion loan forgiveness for students who were defrauded by their colleges or if their school shut down. The change is projected to affect 73,000 people.