California Attorney General Xavier Becerra visited Stanford on Wednesday to talk about his plans for the future of California and to give advice to students looking to make an impact in the public sector.
Becerra — who earned a B.A. in economics at Stanford in 1980 and a J.D. from Stanford Law in 1984 — is widely regarded as one of the principal leaders in the legal fight against the Trump administration. He has brought eight lawsuits and counting against the Trump administration on issues like the rollback of environmental protections, the planned ending of DACA, and the construction of a border wall.
The state attorney general refrained from giving details on the future of his fight against President Trump, instead saying: “You can read what someone’s going to do by what they’ve done.” Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants and the first in his family to graduate from college, continued, “if you take a look at where I’ve come from, you’ll get a pretty clear sense of why for me it’s so important to be able to fight [against Trump]as the AG or as a member of Congress.”
Becerra also took the time to address changes in California’s attitude toward immigration. He reiterated his goals and hopes as attorney general, saying that he plans to keep California moving forward so that it may continue to be an example for the rest of the country to follow on both economic and social issues. “A construction worker today,” Becerra declared, “married to a clerical worker today should believe that they could dream to buy a house, send their kids to college, and then after decades of giving to this country in labor, retire in dignity.”
Becerra concluded by answering questions from students about the basis for his lawsuits and how to enter the public sector as a minority.
This is the first of a new Stanford Politics initiative to provide coverage of political events (usually speakers) on campus. If you’re interested in joining our events team, please apply at stanfordpolitics.org/join.