HF Issues Statement on President Trump’s Puerto Rico Reference in SOTU

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 -- The Hispanic Federation issued the following statement by President Jose Calderon reacting to President Trump's Puerto Rico reference in his State of the Union:

"Over the past 4 months, this President has neglected Puerto Rico and the reality that he has presided over the worst humanitarian crisis in the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina. Today, he made a quick passing reference to being with and even loving the people of Puerto Rico, along with other disaster-stricken American territories. These represent empty words from an empty President who has proven incapable of leading a necessary project of relief, recovery and reconstruction in Puerto Rico.

Mr. President, please don't say you stand with us when you continue to fail to provide Puerto Rico the basic resources it needs and deserves to heal. And please don't say you love us when you sit idly by as our fellow citizens on the island continue to endure the largest blackout in American history, a crumbling healthcare system and the indignities of living without the most basic of necessities.

"Our people in Puerto Rico don't need the President's hollow expressions of compassion. They need him to act and finally lead a full fledge response to the humanitarian crisis on the island."