Arlette Saenz, ABC News, September 13, 2012

Vice President Joe Biden described the Hispanic population in this country as the “most powerful force in American politics” during a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala in Washington, D.C. Thursday night.

“I’m here to say thank you, and tell you how much this great country owes you and how much more can be done with the infusion of new blood, of new ideas,” Biden said. “Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to become, and already have, the most powerful force in American politics. Exercise that power well, and the country will embrace you.”

The Census Bureau says the 52 million Hispanics in this country accounted for 16.7 percent of the nation’s population in 2011, and the Pew Research Center has predicted nearly a third of the U.S. population will be Hispanic by 2050, a projection that Biden says Americans have embraced.

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“Look how the American people reacted to President Obama’s executive action lifting the threat of deportation from the Dreamers. It had to be emotional, fill all of you with pride how that first day those Dreamers were eligible to apply for deferred action, thousands lined up, block after block after block,” Biden said. “I’m proud of my president, I’m proud of what the president did and I know you’re equally proud.”

“Everyone in this room, maybe more than anyone in the country understands we’ve got a lot more to do. And we will not rest in this administration until we find a permanent path out of the shadows for those who spent their lives living in fear, a path to citizenship,” Biden added.

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