Nanette Diaz Barragán was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2016, becoming the first Latina ever to represent California’s 44th Congressional district.
Born in Harbor City and growing up in its surrounding harbor communities, Nanette’s humble beginnings shaped her interest in issues that matter locally: environmental and health justice, immigration reform, strengthening the economy and affordable and accessible education.
As the youngest of eleven children raised by immigrant parents from Mexico, Nanette knows about the challenges that many low-income minority families face firsthand. Her father, a local tv repairman, instilled in her a strong work ethic and influenced her love for baseball (in particular, for the Los Angeles Dodgers). Her mother, who only completed the third grade, cleaned homes, cared for others and worked in factories to make ends meet. Nanette learned from her parents the values of hard work, and obtained her undergraduate degree from UCLA and her Juris Doctor from USC Gould School of Law.
Skin color and social economic status should not influence outcomes in our justice system. I am resolved to improving criminal justice policy so that it is truly fair and blind to race. While working in the White House and then at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the late 1990’s, I focused on racial and social justice issues. I am bringing this experience to Congress to ensure that the criminal justice framework functions as a stabilizing—and not a divisive—force in the community.
Congress must continue to focus on the pervasive use of racial profiling, ways to improve law enforcement interaction with the community, and providing adequate health care for inmates. I have championed legislation to require sensitivity training for law enforcement officers, pushed for a comprehensive approach to combating AIDS in prisons and called for an end to racial profiling.
The “tough on crime” policies of the 1990s have wreaked havoc on communities of color. Once out of prison or jail, those who have served their time continue to face obstacles that prevent them from properly reintegrating into society. They must work every day to overcome the stigma commonly associated with former-inmates and surmount near-impossible barriers to access housing and obtain employment.