{"id":14878,"date":"2026-07-25T15:17:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T15:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14878"},"modified":"2026-07-25T15:17:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T15:17:50","slug":"what-californias-latino-leaders-want-from-xavier-becerra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/?p=14878","title":{"rendered":"What California’s Latino leaders want from Xavier Becerra"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The policy agenda pitched to the likely next governor, who would be the first Latino official in modern history to hold the office, includes constitutionalizing state benefits for immigrants.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Marisa Guerra Echeverria<\/a><\/em>, POLITICO<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Latino advocacy groups are stepping up a pressure campaign on Xavier Becerra, urging California\u2019s likely next governor to expand protections and benefits for undocumented immigrants and make them harder for future administrations to unwind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A coalition of more than four dozen Latino advocates from across the state has advanced a sweeping policy agenda, including proposals to constitutionally guarantee health care regardless of immigration status and expand access to state benefits and services. Now, with Becerra poised to become California\u2019s first Latino governor in modern history, the coalition and its allies in the Legislature are pressing him to make those ideas a defining part of his administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to be an afterthought,\u201d said Latino Caucus Chair and Democratic state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, who told POLITICO she is \u201copen to supporting\u201d a constitutional amendment and backs the group\u2019s broader agenda. \u201cWe\u2019re almost half of the population. We should be a priority, along with many other diverse communities too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates from the Ad Hoc Latino Leaders Group held meetings and informal talks with gubernatorial candidates and their campaigns \u2014 including Becerra\u2019s \u2014 earlier in the year. Now, they\u2019re seeking a follow-up meeting to discuss the proposals in more detail, said Seciah Aquino, executive director of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if Becerra agrees with the coalition\u2019s goals, its most ambitious proposals would require him to spend significant political capital to sway moderate Democrats wary of multibillion-dollar commitments amid the state\u2019s budget challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, Aquino said Becerra\u2019s record and ties to the Latino community give the group reason to believe he\u2019d champion the agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are really counting on him to come in ready to fight that fight,\u201d Aquino said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The boldest of the proposals is a constitutional right to health care regardless of immigration status, with an annual spending floor modeled after California\u2019s constitutionally protected school funding guarantee. It would require Becerra and lawmakers to commit billions of dollars to services that have already faced resistance<\/a> at the Capitol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leaders are also calling for greater representation in gubernatorial appointments, more transparency in the selection process and expanded access to state services and protections for undocumented immigrants. While California provides children\u2019s services, public education and some treatment programs regardless of immigration status, many undocumented immigrants in California remain ineligible for food aid, housing and cash assistance programs. Available state-funded programs for immigrants also have added stricter eligibility requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sonja Diaz, founder of policy nonprofit Unseen and a leader of the group, said dividing benefits between the \u201cdeserving and undeserving\u201d is \u201cnonsensical\u201d for a healthy democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the pressure campaign faces two broader realities \u2014 years of projected shortfalls<\/a> and a recent federal change<\/a> that would allow federal officials to penalize immigrants applying for permanent residency for using public benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becerra, who is overwhelmingly favored to win November\u2019s election against Republican Steve Hilton in this heavily Democratic state, has championed immigrant health care access from his time in Congress<\/a> to his tenure as California attorney general, where he challenged<\/a> a similar public benefits rule under the first Trump administration. In the nascent days of his gubernatorial campaign, he slammed<\/a> Gov. Gavin Newsom\u2019s proposed cuts to Medi-Cal for undocumented immigrants, decrying the move as \u201cpennywise and pound foolish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement to POLITICO, Becerra campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland said, \u201cXavier Becerra passed the ACA and defended it at the Supreme Court \u2014 he knows keeping people healthy and out of the ER protects families without burdening taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign would not say whether Becerra supported the idea of a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates acknowledge that even a sympathetic governor won\u2019t be enough. German Cash, California state director for the Hispanic Federation and coalition leader, said the advocates are relying on Gonzalez and the Latino Caucus to rally support for the policies as lawmakers contend with fiscal constraints. He argues that stricter regulations from Washington only strengthen the case for California to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe urgency is there, and I do think that regardless of how hard it may be, the consequences of not doing it are so much greater,\u201d Cash said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the advocates now pressing Becerra on policy also helped to build his political coalition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA, said members began to line up behind Becerra early \u2014 before he became the frontrunner \u2014 because he consistently attended CHIRLA events and spent time speaking with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll those people, mostly within the Latino community, they weren\u2019t listening to the polls, they weren\u2019t being told by the Democratic Party about who was the chosen elected,\u201d Salas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salas said Becerra\u2019s one-on-one conversations with immigrant members throughout the campaign \u2014 often in fluent Spanish \u2014 energized volunteers and solidified his ties to Los Angeles\u2019 immigrant community. CHIRLA\u2019s lobbying arm endorsed him<\/a> in April, and Latino organizations later rallied to his defense when opponents attacked his record<\/a> as HHS secretary on the placements of unaccompanied migrant children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur members would say it\u2019s so good to be able to talk to somebody who understands you in your own language,\u201d Salas said. \u201cThere\u2019s no translation. There\u2019s no in between. This person understands me, listens to me, gets me, can respond to my questions in my language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign also leaned into Becerra\u2019s biography as a first-generation Mexican American by launching Spanish-only TikToks<\/a> and later embracing the nickname \u201cT\u00edo Xavier.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That message may have resonated with young Latino voters, whose turnout jumped more than any other group from the 2022 primaries, said Matt Barreto, a political scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Barreto said Becerra\u2019s identity gave voters a \u201cstarting point\u201d to explore his political record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, advocates are shifting their focus to the next administration. Cash said the team is preparing to try \u201call the levers possible\u201d to advance immigrant-friendly policies \u2014 through the Legislature, executive orders or ballot initiatives. Putting a constitutional amendment before voters, he said, remains the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Gonzalez said the administration should appoint officials who understand the policy needs of California\u2019s Latino communities in a time of mounting attacks from the federal government. The commitment, the state senator said, should go beyond making a few appointments and being \u201cgood for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe still have all these other issues, like ethnic studies,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got immigration enforcement bills that need fast tracking. We have investments, deep investments, even outside of immigration, that need to be attended to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sen. Alex Padilla, who became the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate after serving as the state\u2019s first Latino secretary of state, declined to say if he supported the idea of enshrining health care for immigrants in the state constitution. But Padilla said the proposal itself is an example of how far Latino advocates have come politically since Proposition 187 three decades ago, when California voters sought to deny immigrants basic public services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becerra\u2019s election would be a \u201cpoint of pride\u201d for the state\u2019s Latinos, he said. But symbolism alone won\u2019t improve the lives of working families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s worth celebrating. But that in and of itself doesn\u2019t improve anybody\u2019s life,\u201d Padilla said. \u201cIt\u2019s what we do with the opportunity that has the potential to improve people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The policy agenda pitched to the likely next governor, who would be the first Latino official in modern history to hold the office, includes constitutionalizing state benefits for immigrants. By Marisa Guerra Echeverria, POLITICO Latino […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62,64,70],"tags":[83,81,85],"class_list":["post-14878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-slider","category-california","category-latino-vote","tag-california","tag-latino-vote","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14878"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14882,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14878\/revisions\/14882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/latinosreadytovote.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}