Arizona’s new Democratic Senator is Latino, but backs tough action on immigration : NPR

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Arizona's Ruben Gallego was one of the few Democrats to win a U.S. Senate seat in a state also won by President Trump. As a freshman lawmaker, Gallego now finds himself challenging both Republicans and members of his own party when it comes to immigration. From member station KJZZ in Phoenix, Ben Giles reports.

BEN GILES, BYLINE: Days before Trump's inauguration, more than 200 Arizona Democrats penned a letter to Gallego and other lawmakers criticizing their support for the Laken Riley Act. The law, the first signed by Trump in his second term, directs federal immigration enforcement to detain and deport those without legal status who are charged with theft or certain violent crimes. Many Democrats warned it will eliminate due process for migrants, and some see votes for the measure as a betrayal of the Latino community that helped Gallego to victory in a state Trump won by six points. Gallego is having none of it.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RUBEN GALLEGO: They're welcome to give advice to me and everything else like that, but don't come and try to lie to me and say that that's where the Latino voter is, because it's not the case.

GILES: Gallego says some immigrants' views on immigration, the border and border security are more nuanced than what progressives in his own party would have you believe.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GALLEGO: They don't feel like they have any connection to this new wave of immigrants that's coming over, even if they are from the same country.

GILES: Luis Acosta says that's exactly how his parents feel. The Democratic political consultant, now in his 30s, is protected for now under the DACA program. He traveled to Arizona from Mexico with his parents as a child. His father, a construction worker, and mother, who cleans houses, remain in the country without legal status. Acosta says he understands why immigrants like his parents are frustrated by what they view as the ease with which a new wave of migrants is entering the country.

LUIS ACOSTA: It's just turned into something that I think got out of control really fast, and a lot of people, including those on the ground who are still undocumented, who've probably been here for 10-plus years, 20-plus years, 30-plus years in some cases, just kind of were caught off guard by.

GILES: Acosta says immigrants like his parents, and like many Americans, are also frustrated by migrants who commit crimes.

ACOSTA: It casts a bad name on all of us, even though we've done nothing wrong except for coming here – right? – without permission.

GILES: Acosta says his parents understand laws like the Laken Riley Act could affect them because of their legal status if they were ever accused of certain crimes. But Acosta also says they don't envision that ever happening.

ACOSTA: From their perspective, it's, well, you know, other than being here illegally, we don't break any crimes, right? We really don't. We just go about our days. We go to the grocery store, we go back home, and that's about it.

GILES: Samara Klar is a professor of political science at the University of Arizona. She says while Latinos in Arizona are generally supportive of more permissive immigration laws, a majority are also supportive of some efforts to crack down on immigration.

SAMARA KLAR: There is a great deal of concern among Latinos in Arizona about border security and about, you know, weapons coming across the border and drugs coming across the border and even illegal immigration.

GILES: Gallego says that's what he heard from voters while running for the Senate. But there are other immigration policies Trump has floated that he won't back.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GALLEGO: I did hear on the campaign trail, we want border security. What I did not hear on the campaign trail is, I want mass deportations. I – what I did not hear on the campaign trail was, I want to end birthright citizenship.

GILES: Representing those Arizona voters' concerns will mean sometimes supporting and sometimes opposing the Trump agenda.

For NPR News, I'm Ben Giles in Phoenix.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.