United States Congressman Joaquín Castro discussed immigration, the current presidential election, and the status of Latinos in the U.S. at a talk moderated by CNN Political Analyst and Kennedy School professor David Gergen at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum on Thursday.

Castro is a member of the Democratic Party who represents the 20th congressional district of Texas, which largely encompasses the San Antonio area. His twin brother, Julián Castro, currently serves as President Barack H. Obama’s Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and has been rumored to be a contender for the Democrats' 2016 Vice Presidential nomination. Both brothers are active supporters of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.

Joaquín Castro, advocating Democratic policy, emphasized the need for immigration reform, and criticized the Republican presidential candidates for their handling of the issue throughout the current campaign cycle.

“Donald Trump and the Republicans have turned the conversation about immigration into a nasty one, and one that makes it hard for the country to come together,” he said in an interview before his talk.{shortcode-edf5bdac836ae672941ec5096f5b464e5412b3a2}

“I feel like [Trump] kicked off his campaign with slander. He slandered a whole population of people. He slandered immigrants, he slandered Latinos, but not just Latinos and immigrants,” Castro said. “He slandered the history of the United States and the country, and the way we were built.”

Castro also spoke about the need to improve education policies in the U.S. and increase college accessibility. Specifically, he cited the need to increase the amount of college counseling available to students, and make sure that all options for higher education are open to them.

“There are a lot of important things that happen outside the classroom but still inside the school,” he said. “We have to do a good job of broadening people’s horizons, getting them to apply to all of these wonderful places.”

Castro shared that the advice he gives to college counselors is to “always believe that the people that you’re advising and mentoring can achieve more things than you did,” adding that “people will artificially limit their horizons.”

Daniel S. Menz ’19 said that, while he thought the talk was rehearsed at points, Castro “was very sincere.”

The Castro brothers “have been such role models in their community, growing up in the situation that they did,” Menz said. “The talk really illustrated why we’re so privileged to be here.”

Anastacia M. Valdespino ’17 said she liked the breadth of issues Castro explored, some of which, “we don’t get to talk about or have the space to talk about.”

The large audience at the talk was “a testament to the rarity of this,” she added. “Not only that it is rare to have such a successful Latino in Congress, but to also have him come here.”

Castro’s talk opened the Harvard Kennedy School’s America Adelante Conference, taking place this weekend, which aims to bring together Latino students and political leaders and explore the implications of the growing Latino population in the U.S.

—Staff writer Nathaniel J. Hiatt can be reached at nathaniel.hiatt@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @nathaniel_hiatt.