By Russell Contreras | Axios Latino | Feb. 5, 2024 | Photo Courtesy of Cindy Nava
One of the first former DACA recipients to receive a White House presidential appointment, will run for state Senate in New Mexico.
Why it matters: Cindy Nava, a once-undocumented immigrant from Mexico who worked without pay in the New Mexico Legislature for a decade, could become one of the first former DACA recipients to win an election.
Driving the news: Cindy Nava tells Axios she is running for state senate in her home state.
She stepped down from her position as the senior policy adviser to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary.
What they're saying: "New Mexico needs our own version of The American Dream—a state where every child gets a world-class education," Nava said in a statement.
"As someone who was undocumented, I know these building blocks must be in place to create success."
Details: Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Nava was brought to New Mexico as a child and grew up in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
She got involved in politics immediately after high school and worked in the New Mexico Statehouse on behalf of Democratic lawmakers. She couldn't get paid because she was undocumented.
She eventually enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and became a U.S. citizen through marriage.
Zoom in: Working for state lawmakers exposed her to housing issues in New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the nation.
Nava said images of the Navajo Nation's lack of electricity and no adequate plumbing in some border communities will help shape her policy with HUD.
Between the lines: Nava is one of a handful of DREAMers that Democrats have been preparing for elected office through various training programs.
