Where I Stand

The Problem

ICE has only existed for two decades, yet many Americans don't realize we managed immigration just fine before it was created. In light of the recent public killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, it is clear that ICE has become a rogue agency that consistently violates the First, Second, and Fourth Amendment rights of American citizens.

We've been conditioned to treat immigration as a national security threat rather than what it actually is: a human services issue. The result is an agency that spends massive amounts of money on workplace raids and detention centers instead of focusing on immigration reform and humane asylum processing.

The facts are clear: first and second generation immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born Americans. They work hard for better lives for their families and contribute to the US economy in enormous ways. If every immigrant in the US disappeared today, our economy would collapse and our per capita crime rate would immediately tick up.

The Solution

• Abolish ICE and move immigration services to the Department of Health and Human Services
• Shift focus from enforcement and detention to immigration reform and streamlined asylum processing
• Arrest and prosecute agents involved in the deaths of American citizens
• Impeach and investigate the leaders who oversaw these unconstitutional operations
• End workplace raids and family separations
• Create a humane, efficient path to citizenship that recognizes immigrants' contributions to our society

No amount of funding or training can rehabilitate ICE. Anything less than abolition is an insult to all of us.

The Problem

Over 27 million Americans have no health insurance, and millions more are underinsured. Medical debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in this country. Insurance companies profit by denying care, while pharmaceutical corporations charge Americans more than anyone else in the world for life-saving medications.

The Solution

• Pass Medicare for All legislation to guarantee comprehensive healthcare to every American
• Eliminate premiums, deductibles, and copays
• Include dental, vision, hearing, and mental health coverage
• Allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies
• Transition insurance industry workers to new roles in the expanded Medicare system

The Problem

Billionaires pay a lower effective tax rate than teachers and nurses. Corporations use loopholes to pay nothing in federal taxes while recording record profits. Wealth inequality is at levels not seen since the Gilded Age. The ultra-rich have rigged the system to protect their fortunes while working families struggle to get by.

The Solution

• Implement a wealth tax on fortunes over $50 million
• Tax capital gains as ordinary income
• Close the carried interest loophole
• Establish a corporate minimum tax for large corporations like Google and Amazon so no profitable company pays zero
• Reduce the size of the IRS to avoid overspending on audits for working class taxpayers and instead focus on large corporations
• Use the revenue to invest in healthcare, housing, education, and climate

The Problem

California has the highest rate of homelessness in the nation. Rent has skyrocketed while wages have stagnated. Corporate landlords and Wall Street investors are buying up housing stock, driving up prices and displacing families. Young people can't afford to buy homes, and seniors are being priced out of communities they've lived in for decades.

The Solution

• Massive federal investment in public and social housing construction
• National rent control and anti-gouging protections
• Ban corporate and institutional investors from buying single-family homes
• Expand Section 8 vouchers and make them an entitlement
• Implement a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction
• Create a national housing-first program to end homelessness

The Problem

Union membership has declined for decades as corporations have waged war on workers' rights to organize. The minimum wage hasn't kept pace with inflation or productivity. Workers are being misclassified as independent contractors to deny them benefits. Meanwhile, CEO pay has exploded to over 300 times the average worker's salary.

The Solution

• Pass the PRO Act to protect workers' right to organize
• Raise the federal minimum wage and index it to inflation
• Guarantee paid family and medical leave for all workers
• End worker misclassification and strengthen gig worker protections
• Require worker representation on corporate boards
• Ban non-compete agreements and mandatory arbitration clauses

The Problem

Climate change is an existential threat. California is already experiencing devastating wildfires, droughts, and extreme heat. Fossil fuel companies knew about climate change for decades and chose to spread disinformation instead of acting. Low-income communities and communities of color bear the brunt of pollution and environmental destruction.

The Solution

• Create legislation that makes it easier to transition to 100% clean energy
• Create millions of good-paying union jobs in clean energy, infrastructure, and conservation
• Invest in public transit and high-speed rail
• End fossil fuel subsidies and ban new drilling on public lands
• Prioritize environmental justice in frontline communities
• Hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate damages

The Problem

Americans owe over $1.7 trillion in student debt. The cost of college has increased over 1,200% since 1980. Young people are delaying buying homes, starting families, and saving for retirement because of crushing debt. Meanwhile, for-profit colleges prey on veterans and low-income students while delivering worthless degrees.

The Solution

• Make public colleges, universities, and trade schools tuition-free
• Cancel all existing student debt
• Increase Pell Grants to cover living expenses
• Crack down on predatory for-profit colleges
• Invest in K-12 public education and pay teachers what they deserve
• Expand access to Pre-K and make childcare affordable