Guadalajara got a prime time shout out at the Democratic National Convention last week as U.S. Congressman Xavier Becerra revealed his parents’ struggles as immigrants in the United States.
“When she was 18, my mom came from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. She was the boss. She juggled her jobs at home and as a clerical worker,” said the representative for California’s 34th congressional district and current chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
“My father, he had to leave school by the sixth grade to help support the family. I remember: He would leave for work long before my three sisters and I would get up for school. When you work in the fields, and in construction, you rise with the sun. In winter, when Sacramento turned cold and rainy, and the construction jobs disappeared, my dad would somehow find other work – laying a tile floor, canning tomatoes, or hauling someone’s trash.”
To warm applause, Becerra told the convention audience that he was the first in his family to graduate with a college degree. He extolled Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton’s commitment to education and far-reaching proposals to ensure that every child receives the best education without the lifelong burden of student debt.