[WM]SACRAMENTO — Returning to his alma mater, C.K. McClatchy High School, Attorney General Xavier Becerra stood in front of students, parents and cameras Tuesday night to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union in Spanish.
“It says to other students that it does not matter where you come from, how humble your background may be, you can reach those dreams through hard work,” said C.K. McClatchy Principal Peter Lambert.
Having sued the Trump administration 45 times over varying issues, the attorney general is used to being at odds with the president. His speech was expected to be no exception.
“He is the symbol of resistance in California,” said CALmatters columnist Dan Walters.
Walters said we should expect immigration and health care to be top focuses for Becerra’s rebuttal.
“He’ll be talking about immigration, seeing himself as kind of the embodiment of the American dream. His parents were immigrants from Mexico,” Walters told FOX40.
While Tuesday night’s speeches are mostly symbolic, Walters says talking points will be geared toward party agendas for the presidential election.
As for students watching in the audience, just seeing an alumnus from their school on the national stage is a point of pride.
The attorney general’s speech was not the first time a State of the Union response was delivered in Spanish, as well as English. The first time that happened was back in 2011.
It is an honor to be here with you from C.K. McClatchy High School in the City of Sacramento, the capital of the State of California. I am here with future leaders of our country — McClatchy students — where I also studied, but about four decades ago!
My parents began their life together in the United States for the same reason that many other families come to this country: to work hard and give their children a better life. Upon leaving Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, they brought with them their faith and not much else. They trusted in the promise of this country that all those who work hard and play by the rules, have earned the opportunity to get ahead.
I know I am the product of those who fought to open the doors of opportunity. The optimism – that characterizes the waves of immigrants who have come here – runs through my blood. And if the state of our nation can be characterized as “strong,” it is because people like my parents and yours — citizens or immigrant — built this country.
There is no other country like the United States.
The world needs us strong and ready. The world looks to us as a leader and partner.
How can it be, then, that our young, rich, and strong nation finds itself in a state of disorder, stress, hostility?
How can it be that what defines the state of our country in 2019 is the shutdown of the government at the hands President Trump? And not only once, but perhaps a second time in the coming weeks.
It shouldn’t surprise us that the majority of people here in the United States think that the country is moving in the wrong direction. And that four out of 10 Americans believe that this is the worst government that they have seen in their life.
If President Trump wanted to seriously advance comprehensive immigration reform, including border security, Democrats are and have been ready. But closing our government — and leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without work or pay — is not that way to do it.
We are ready to reject this foolish proposal, in court, the moment it touches the ground.
1. They are also putting a wall between you and your doctor, dictating what services you can receive. That is why my fellow Attorneys General and I defend, in court, people like Elizabeth from Florida. Having healthcare coverage allowed her to complete university and ensured that her husband had coverage to defeat cancer. And now, Elizabeth is an attorney.
2. Also the Trump Administration — they are putting a wall between you and the voting booth. But I have news for you here: They failed! During the November elections, Latinos, especially young people, came out to vote in historic numbers! Thank you!
3. What else? They are also putting a wall between our veterans and their medical services. They are ready to waste millions of dollars on a border wall instead of helping our veterans who deal with long delays in hospitals.
4. And they’re also building a wall between parents and their children, by putting children in cages that separate them from their families.
Now that you see your power, are you ready to open new doors?
Don’t you think that it is already the time that we in our government build schools, not walls? Then, get those hands ready to vote in the next election!
Our system of government rewards the participation of everyone. And with 66,000 Latino citizens reaching 18 years of age, the voting age, every month, we have many hands to reward.
And comprehensive immigration reform to fix our broken system: Check! Check! Check!
In the courts and in Congress, or at the polls, we have to fight for our agenda. That is why I have fought as Attorney General in court against the President’s Administration and we are winning!
1. In protecting the DACA program, we fought and won for 700,000 young people.
2. In protecting the Affordable Care Act, we are the protagonists. More than four million Latinos depend on the ACA for their health insurance.
3. In protecting college students against fraudulent loans, we fought and won for thousands of them.
Over the years, they have reaped the fruits of their labor and dedication to their family. There is no doubt that the ‘State of the Union’ of Maria Teresa and Manuel Becerra is strong and resilient.
If you asked my parents what is the state of our Nation, I am sure they would paint an image more real than what President Trump presented tonight. They know what it means to work hard and to respect the rules.
And they know well that to stay strong as a united people, we have to work together and push those heavy doors open so that all our children – like the students from CK McClatchy – can walk through them, and have an opportunity.
Whether it’s with marches on the streets or marches to the polling booths, with fights in the court or through Congress, we will do what’s needed to ensure a strong and vibrant national Union.
Friends, with faith and the strength of our labor, and respecting the diverse contributions of the American people, the United States will continue to be the home of the American Dream.
Thank you. Good night and may God bless you.