Xavier Becerra on Principles & Values Democratic Representative (CA-31)

Appointed as California's first Latino attorney general

Becerra has served 12 terms in Congress and was making a bid to become the ranking Democrat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee when Brown called him unexpectedly to offer the job. "It's a phenomenal opportunity," Becerra said. "It means I get to be home a lot more."

Becerra, who is the highest-ranking Latino in Congress, would be the state's first Latino attorney general. He worked in the Civil Division of the attorney general's office from 1987 to 1990 before entering Congress.

A vocal advocate for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid, Becerra was briefly floated as an option for vice president or a cabinet position. With Clinton's loss Nov. 8 and no upward mobility available in House leadership, Becerra's future political career was unclear.

We know true value of diversity; will fight for our beliefs

Religious affiliation: Catholic.

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What’s an adherent?

Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using.

Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The members of the Progressive Caucus share a common belief in the principles of social and economic justice, non-discrimination, and tolerance in America and in our relationships with other countries. We also seek to embody and give voice to national priorities which reflect the interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Our purpose is to present thoughtful, positive, practical solutions to the problems confronting America and the world. In the post-Cold War era, we believe our nation’s priorities must change with the times and reflect new realities. Accordingly, we support curbs on wasteful, inefficient government spending at the Pentagon and elsewhere, a more progressive tax system in which wealthier taxpayers and corporations pay their fair share, adequate funding for social programs that are designed to extend help to low and middle-income Americans in need, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of jobs and investment in America.

Member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus .

The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), founded in May 16, 1994, by former Congressman Norman Mineta, is comprised of a formal group of Members of Congress (House and Senate) who have strong interests in promoting Asian Pacific American (APA) issues and advocating the concerns of APAs.

The goals of the Caucus are:
• To establish policies and issue policy statements on legislation and issues relating to persons of Asian and/or Pacific Islands ancestry who are citizens or nationals of, residents of, or immigrants to, the United States, its territories and possessions;
• To ensure that legislation passed by the United States Congress, to the greatest extent possible, provides for the full participation of Asian Pacific Americans and reflects the concerns and needs of the Asian Pacific American communities;
• To educate other Members of the Congress about the history, contributions and concerns of Asian Pacific Americans;
• To work with other Members and Caucuses of the Congress to protect and advance the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans; and
• To provide a formal structure to coordinate the efforts, and enhance the ability, of the Asian Pacific American Members of Congress to accomplish those goals.

Member of Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is an informal group of 18 members of Congress of Hispanic descent. The Caucus is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Hispanic Americans in the US and the insular areas. The CHC was founded in December 1976 as a legislative service organization of the US House. Today, the CHC is organized as a congressional member organization, governed under the Rules of Congress and comprised solely of Members of the US Congress.

Although every issue that affects the quality of life of Americans is of concern to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, there are national and international issues that have a particular impact on the Hispanic community. The function of the Caucus is to serve as a forum for the Hispanic Members of Congress to coalesce around a collective legislative agenda. In addition to covering legislative action, the CHC also monitors Executive and Judicial policies that affect Hispanics.

Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

The members of the Progressive Caucus share a common belief in the principles of social and economic justice, non-discrimination, and tolerance in America and in our relationships with other countries. We also seek to embody and give voice to national priorities which reflect the interests and needs of all the American people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Our purpose is to present thoughtful, positive, practical solutions to the problems confronting America and the world. In the post-Cold War era, we believe our nation’s priorities must change with the times and reflect new realities. Accordingly, we support curbs on wasteful, inefficient government spending at the Pentagon and elsewhere, a more progressive tax system in which wealthier taxpayers and corporations pay their fair share, adequate funding for social programs that are designed to extend help to low and middle-income Americans in need, and trade policies that increase the exports of more American products and encourage the creation of jobs and investment in America.

Religious freedom means no religious registry.

Congressional Summary: Notwithstanding any other provision of the immigration laws, an alien may not be denied admission to the United States because of the alien`s religion or lack of religious beliefs.

Argument Opposed: [Countable.us]: `The U.S. should reserve the right to ban immigrants based on religion. The government may need to enact such a ban in response to a future acts of terror, which could save American lives.`

Argument In Favor: [Cato Institute, Dec. 8, 2016]: Donald Trump proposed prohibiting all Muslim immigration; then specified `suspending immigration from nations tied to Islamic terror.` He said, `People are pouring in from regions of the Middle East,` but that he would `stop that dead, cold flat,` during his first day in office. However, under current law, it is illegal to discriminate against immigrants based on their national origin. For almost a decade, Congress debated creating an immigration system free from discrimination by nationality, country of birth, or country of residence. President-elect Trump, however, now proposes to discriminate unlawfully against certain foreign nationals on the basis of the same protected grounds without any legislation from Congress.