Gov. Maura Healey, joined by Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, spoke at a Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month celebration at the Massachusetts State House, praising the state’s Latino community and saying she has hired Pedro Martinez to lead the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The remarks, delivered during a ceremony hosted by the Latino Empowerment Council, emphasized the administration’s partnership with Latino leaders and highlighted education, business ownership and concerns about federal immigration actions. "Latinos are the fastest growing population in Massachusetts, representing 84% of our state's growth over the past decade alone," Healey said, and added that "Latino business ownership grew by 23% in Massachusetts over the last 2 years." She also said she had "just hired... Pedro Martinez" to run the state's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and described Martinez as having grown up not speaking English and learned the language before rising to the new role.
The event opened with remarks from Josiane Martinez, chair of the Latino Empowerment Council, who welcomed attendees to the State House and thanked the Healey-Driscoll administration for what she called an "unparalleled partnership." Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, speaking after the governor, called the afternoon an opportunity to "acknowledge the joy, the resilient, and the opportunity to celebrate our Latino heritage" and praised the council's work to operationalize policy efforts in schools, homeownership, health and small business support.
Healey addressed national immigration enforcement in broader terms, saying she has seen "children terrified to go to school" and businesses slow because people are afraid to go to work. "It's not right. It's not who we are as Americans," she said, and urged support for the Latino community in Massachusetts.
The program included musical performances, including a singer identified in remarks as a 12-year-old from Wakefield, and the presentation of citations to performers and community members. Attendees included members of the governor's cabinet and the Latino Empowerment Council; Healey thanked Secretary for Veterans' Services John Santiago, "Secretary Jones" from Labor and Workforce Development, and Marconi Almeidoberos, identified in remarks as leading the Office of Access and Opportunity.
No formal votes or policy actions were recorded at the event. The governor's statements, including numeric claims about demographic and economic change and the hiring of Pedro Martinez for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, were presented as remarks at the celebration. The event organizers framed the occasion as both a celebration and a reaffirmation of the administration's ongoing engagement with Latino leaders across Massachusetts.
Looking ahead, speakers encouraged continued community engagement and described the event as part of broader efforts to increase Latino representation in government and administration roles.