California Latino Caucus chooses its next leaders as its influence continues to grow

With California’s Latino population approaching 16 million and the state poised for a historic shift in its political leadership, the Latino Legislative Caucus is preparing for a new chapter.

The 35 lawmakers in the caucus voted this month to elect its new leadership team for the 2027-28 legislative session starting in December. The results? Assemblymember Juan Carrillo, a Democrat from Palmdale, will be the next chair of the powerful Caucus. Democratic Sen. Eloise Gómez Reyes of San Bernardino will serve as the vice chair. 

Both leaders have committed to building on the caucus’ work on immigration while tackling the everyday economic challenges facing all Californians.

“I feel excited; at the same time, what's going on at the federal level is going to continue,” Carrillo told CALÓ News. “We’ll continue to fight for Latino communities and immigrant communities regardless of where they come from.”

At 14, Carrillo immigrated to the United States from Guadalajara, Mexico. He spent a handful of days detained at a U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service center in 1998, and told CALÓ News the actions of the federal government are “very personal.”

Carrillo trained as an urban planner and worked in the City of Palmdale. His public service career began on the Palmdale School Board, then on the Palmdale City Council. In 2022, he was elected to represent the region in the State Assembly. He was reelected in 2024 and is running for another term.

Reyes is a lawyer by trade and spent decades at the law firm she opened in the Inland Empire, where she grew up. She served eight years in the State Assembly before being elected to the Senate in 2024. Reyes was the first Latina to serve as Assembly Majority Leader.

“The Latino Caucus has been and remains and will continue to be one of the most important caucuses because if we look at the demographics of California, we are the voice for them,” Reyes said in an interview with CALÓ News.

California is home to roughly 15.6 million Latinos who make up around 40% of the state’s population; Latinos are the largest ethnic group in California. The Legislature has increasingly come to reflect these numbers.

“It's refreshing to see the actual representation,” Reyes said.

What is a Caucus and what does it do?

In 1973, the Chicano Legislative Caucus was formed with five members – the only five Latinos in the state Legislature. Now, with 38 members (including three non-voting auxiliary members), the Latino Caucus is the second largest caucus in the California Legislature, behind the 59-member Women’s Caucus. At 22, there are currently also more Latinas in the Legislature than ever before.

The Caucus is tasked with advancing policy that benefits and empowers the Latino community. Throughout the second Trump administration, much of the legislation has been focused on protecting immigrant communities and boosting oversight and stricter regulations on detention facilities. But Californian Latinos are still Californians, after all, who, on top of pressure from the federal government, have to deal with other everyday realities.

The Caucus’ current chair, Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) has led this year’s legislative package consisting of 15 bills dealing with cost of living, healthcare and workers' rights, as well as accountability for federal immigration enforcement and protection to some of the most vulnerable immigrant communities.

Of those 15 bills, 12 made it to the end of session. At the time of publication, eight bills were officially passed by the Legislature and headed to the governor’s desk.

“As Chair of the Latino Caucus, I’ve been proud to lead the Caucus through a challenging time in our nation, fighting for the rights and opportunities for Californians of all backgrounds,” Gonzalez said in a written statement to CALÓ News. 

Gonzalez pointed to the Caucus’ work over the past year, including passing “landmark legislation and historic budget investments,” including fighting for $200 million for immigrant legal aid.

“It’s been an honor to serve the 38 diverse members of the Latino Caucus and it’s been a privilege to uplift our collective work for every Latino worker, student, business owner, immigrant and more!” Gonzalez said.

What’s in store

Carrillo and Reyes both said their leadership will focus on building on the work that has been done over the past year, as well as looking for more policy areas that can positively impact the state’s Latinos.

“I want to also start talking about other opportunities that we have in Latino communities,” Carrillo said. “Education, job opportunities, homeownership, always continuing to fight for our farmworkers, healthcare… those will continue to be top priorities for us.”

Fighting back against the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda will continue to be on the forefront, Reyes said.

“This year we feel the pain of our community,” Reyes said. “This isn't the America we should have. It isn't what our children should have to experience.”

The Caucus is always tasked with developing a productive partnership with the governor. Xavier Becerra, likely to be elected as California’s next governor, will make history as the first Latino to hold the office.

Reyes said the Caucus is “ecstatic” for the opportunity to work with Becerra. 

“There is no doubt in my mind that he will be thinking of protections for all Californians; he will recognize the contributions of all Californians, and that includes our immigrant communities,” said Reyes.

“He’s gonna govern for the entire state,” Carrillo said, “but having a Latino governor that will be a good partner to the Latino Caucus obviously is exciting and I’m looking forward to that working relationship with him.”

Becerra did not respond to a request for comment.

Carrillo said the Caucus is hoping to add a few more lawmakers to the group if all goes well after the November midterm elections.

If Becerra wins in November, for the first time in state history, the three most powerful and influential leaders in California will all be Latinos. Becerra would be working alongside Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara).

But that historic representation doesn’t come without great pressure, Carrillo said.

“That also means that people are gonna be looking at us,” Carrillo warned. He said that, as a Caucus, it will be important for the group to be “supportive of the direction the governor wants to go … for the benefit of all Californians.”