Cindy Nava, who was one of the first Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients to receive a presidential appointment in the White House, will run for state Senate in New Mexico, as announced this Monday.
"I was undocumented for more than 20 years and I am going to fight for them. To this day, my parents are still processing their legal process, so they don't even have insurance, which is why I know well the needs of Hispanic people who fight in this country," says Nava in an interview with Noticias Telemundo.
Cindy Nava when she worked in the White House, during the Joe Biden government,Cindy Nava
Nava, now a U.S. citizen, is a once-undocumented immigrant from Mexico who worked without pay in the New Mexico Legislature for a decade, and could become one of the first former DACA recipients to win an election.
Axios first reported her nomination.
"I have always said that New Mexico needs our own version of the American dream, a state where every child receives a world-class education and that is going to change everything. Especially for the most vulnerable communities like Hispanics," said Nava, 35 years, and who resigned from her position as senior policy advisor to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to run for state Senate.
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His experience with state legislators made him well-versed in housing, education and health issues in New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the nation.
The percentage of New Mexico's Latino population is 50.1%,
the highest percentage of Latinos of any US state,
making it a state where minorities are the majority.
"Two years ago I had to have brain surgery because I got a tumor,
and now I'm fine, but it was because I had insurance and I was already a citizen, otherwise I don't know what would have happened to me. There is a lot of work to do to make sure that the communities that are working every day can be served," he explains.
Nava was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, and was brought to New Mexico as a child and grew up in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Immediately after graduating from high school, she entered politics and worked in the New Mexico State House of Representatives on behalf of Democratic legislators.
However, she could not collect because she was undocumented.
"It is very important to bring new voices from Hispanic communities to the centers of power. And it is very difficult to be able to run if you do not come from a family with money or influence, but at the end of the day what you want is to bring resources to be able to help to advance the communities that are here," says Nava, who explains that three years ago she became a US citizen by marriage.
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Nava is part of a group of dreamers that Democrats have been preparing for elected office through various training programs.
“Because I was in Washington, I didn't forget where I came from, and the communities I represent.
I always see my parents' work day by day, struggling because they have no health insurance or resources.
So what I want is to help those people who do not have opportunities and, with God's favor, be able to amplify the voices of our Hispanic communities,” Nava asserts.