SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Despite having a record number of Republican Latino state lawmakers serving in the California Legislature this term, the Democratic leader of the capitol’s Latino Caucus confirmed they are still excluded from joining the group.
State Senator Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, noted the California Legislative Latino Caucus has never allowed Republicans to join in its 50-year history. And now that President Donald Trump is in office and has carried out his campaign promise of mass deportations, Gonzalez signaled protecting undocumented people is where the caucus is drawing the line.
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“That literally is everything this caucus stands for and is the one thing we 100% support together,” Gonzalez told KCRA 3 in an interview on Thursday. “I haven’t heard one of them speak against the Trump administration’s actions. So, I’m waiting for that quite frankly.”
The California Latino Legislative Caucus is a powerful group of lawmakers who often successfully get new state laws passed, and resources approved that are meant to benefit California’s Latino community.
Regardless of President Donald Trump’s immigration-related campaign promises that Democrats warned could shatter families, violate civil liberties and upend the economy, many Latinos voted for him anyway. Forty-five percent of Latinos supported Trump in the 2024 election, which is a record high for a Republican presidential nominee, according to NBC News polling.
Trump flipped 10 counties in California that had supported Joe Biden in 2020. As a result, more Latinos than ever are now Republican state lawmakers in California. Assemblymembers Jeff Gonzalez and Leticia Castillo unexpectedly flipped two seats in the lower chamber from blue to red.
The other Latino Republican state lawmakers include State Senators Rosilicie Ochoa-Bogh, Suzette Valladares and Marie Alvarado-Gil (who switched her party affiliation last fall). Along with Castillo and Gonzalez in the Assembly, there’s Assemblymembers Josh Hoover, Juan Alanis, and Kate Sanchez.
There are 35 Democratic Latino state lawmakers who make up the Latino Caucus.
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