JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Across the country, newly elected city, state and national officials are preparing to take office. One of those is Cindy Nava, a Democrat who will be joining the New Mexico State Senate in Albuquerque. It's Nava's first time serving in elected office. Her win is also notable because she is one of the millions of so-called DREAMers - undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children who are now protected by DACA. She's one of a handful of DACA recipients who ran for office this election cycle.
Cindy Nava, welcome to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED.
CINDY NAVA: Thank you very much. I greatly appreciate you all having me.
SUMMERS: So Cindy, we've talked to a number of DACA recipients over the years on this program, and a common theme that we've heard is the uncertainty that many of them feel about their future in the United States. And I'm just wondering, to start, did you ever think you'd see the day that you would be serving in elected office?
NAVA: Certainly not, especially because I came into the place of policy and politics at a really a young age - since I was 17 years old. And it was always an aspiration, but I was always very realistic, and I knew that I was undocumented the majority of my life. And to think and to realize that, as far as we know, there is no other former DACA recipient who's sitting in elected office until now in the country to me carries a whole lot of weight, and it seems extremely surreal.
SUMMERS: I want to shift, if we can, to the national picture. You won election in a year where immigration was on the ballot everywhere. Exit polls show that it was a winning issue for Republicans and particularly for President-elect Donald Trump. Why do you think that is?
NAVA: Immigration, I think, has been on the ballot before. But I think, this year, it was very clear that it was utilized as a tactic, essentially the MAGA group and a collective (inaudible).
SUMMERS: You're talking about supporters of President-elect Trump there, right?
NAVA: Correct. Yes. Yes. So I can see how they utilized that on the other side and essentially framed everything around it with a very strong tone of hate, which we absolutely saw on the trail, including in my own campaign.
SUMMERS: Let me ask you about that. What did you hear from voters in your campaign on the issue of immigration?
NAVA: In terms of the constituents that I represent, because they're aware that, as a state-elected official, you don't necessarily get to make immigration reform and create it - that's done at a federal level. But my opponent was the one that was utilizing it as a tactic of hate and as a way to attack me because I am an immigrant and because I was undocumented. But we came from a place of honesty, a place of collective action and a place of lived experience that can't be challenged.
SUMMERS: The state of Texas is suing to end the DACA program. What are the ramifications of that program ending for you and other DACA recipients and just more broadly for the United States?
NAVA: Well, DACA certainly changed our lives. I will tell you I remember the day that it was announced by President Obama. I was running into class, and I remember just crying as we watched him on TV. And it changed our lives, even though I know - I'm very aware that it was never enough. We always needed a pathway to citizenship. And my siblings and I were all recipients, but it allowed us to go back to the country that saw us being born. It allowed us to reunite with family members. It allowed me to sit with my grandmother on her last days of life in the hospital in Mexico. And those things are very tangible. And those - I'm not the only one who lived that. DACA recipients across the country did. And they are contributors. They are professionals. They are taxpayers. They are bringing everything that this country needs. We need to ensure that they are protected.
And my own siblings still rely on DACA, and I just am deeply passionate about the program. I clearly had a pathway into citizenship through marriage, but DACA itself provided a life-changing opportunity for so many of us across the country. And this country has benefited from every single one of those contributors who are recipients of DACA.
SUMMERS: I want to talk about you and your role. You'll soon be headed into office. What are your policy priorities? What are you looking forward to focusing on?
NAVA: Well, in listening to the communities, truly, and everything that I've been hearing from our constituents, really we emphasized the notion of education - ensuring that we are providing a world-class education across our great state of New Mexico. As someone who grew up in the state of New Mexico, I was blessed to have access to college as an undocumented student as well. And health care - we need to ensure that we are growing our health care professionals, that we are investing and that we are recruiting and incentivizing health care professionals. As someone who underwent brain surgery three years ago, completely unexpected, I know the importance of having prepared medical professionals on the spot whenever things happen. Life happens regardless of what age we are.
The issues are vast. But I think what's deeply important is listening to our communities. My constituents are very diverse across Senate District 9 in New Mexico, and I think ensuring that folks in my community know that that's why I am there - that, to me, is extremely important.
SUMMERS: Yeah. That's Cindy Nava, State Senator-elect for District 9 in New Mexico. Thanks for being here.
NAVA: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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