LOS ANGELES — Sen. Alex Padilla of California will deliver the Democratic Party’s Spanish-language rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address this week. Padilla, a former California secretary of state, is likely to focus on three major issues: the economy, immigration and fair elections.

And he will almost certainly get personal. The son of Mexican immigrants and the first Latino senator from California, he drew national headlines last year when federal agents forced him to the floor and handcuffed him after he tried to question Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, at a news conference.

We spoke to Padilla by phone Sunday about what he expects from Trump’s speech, how he is preparing for his own address and which Americans he hopes to reach. (Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver Democrats’ English-language rebuttal to Trump.)

This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

Q: What will you be listening for in the president’s speech? What do you expect him to say to Americans?

A: He will say the state of the union is strong, but it’s really hard for people to feel like it’s strong when prices are still high, when we see the out-of-control [Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection] officers in communities across the country. I also think we’re probably going to hear the plans he has to try to disrupt the November election — and I certainly will call that out.

Q: Trump won the 2024 election in part because Latino voters swung in his direction. How are you thinking about reaching those voters? Are you speaking mostly to people who already agree with you?

A: That’s part of our work, day in and day out. It’s not difficult, for example, to connect the dots between, the cost of your health care is going up because Trump and Republicans have chosen to give tax breaks to billionaires.

I’m convinced that the president knows the only chance of Republicans staying in power is to rig the November elections. Kristi Noem said it herself: They want to make sure that the right people are voting in November. The not-so-subtle threat of sending ICE agents to voting locations in November, it’s blatant. It’s a desperate effort to hold onto political power, plain and simple.

(Note: Abigail Jackson, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump was “committed to ensuring that Americans have full confidence in the administration of elections.” Karoline Leavitt, another White House spokesperson, said this month that there were no plans to dispatch ICE agents to polling places, calling the idea a “silly hypothetical.”)

Q: Democrats have repeatedly said this year that they want to focus on the economy. How much do you expect to focus on immigration?

A: It’s not just a front burner for so many families and so many communities across the country, but it’s also very indicative that they’re willing to ignore the law and ignore the Constitution and fundamental rights. It is a fundamental question about democracy. We’ve seen it for a decade now with Donald Trump: When all else fails and everything’s going bad, he comes back to demonizing immigrants to try to turn his approval ratings around.

For all the talk from Trump and those around him about dangerous, violent criminals, the truth is the vast majority of people that are being detained or being arrested or even being deported without due process are not convicted criminals. Then there’s legal immigrants that are being swept up. There’s even veterans and citizens who have been swept up.

Q: Last week, you tried to enter a detention center in San Diego and were turned away. How much oversight can Democrats in Congress actually have now?

A: Republican members of Congress who are currently the majority have abdicated their oversight responsibility.

It’s not a coincidence that the only section of the government that doesn’t have an approved spending plan for the fiscal year is the Department of Homeland Security. At a minimum, let’s establish some basic standards and policies for ICE, CBP and other federal law enforcement that have already proven effective for state and local law enforcement. Things like the body cameras, no mask and you have to identify yourselves. Judicial warrants are necessary for a reason. We need that accountability. We need to enforce the law, but we need to do so in a way that respects the law and the Constitution.

Democrats do not disagree that we need a safe, secure, orderly, humane border. Not everybody who wants to come to the United States should automatically be able to come, but it needs to make more sense for people who want to come work, who want come to study. Millions of people who have been here not just for years, but in many cases decades, working hard, paying taxes — they deserve better than to live in the shadows.

Q: Do you see these issues that you’re talking about — the elections and immigration — as related?

A: And costs of inflation and affordability, and they’re all interrelated.

Q: How so?

A: If you deport the people who are picking fruit and vegetables in the field, if you deport the people who build homes, then the prices of food and the prices of housing are going to go up.

On the election side, it is a lie that there’s massive voter fraud being done by noncitizens. It’s already a crime for noncitizens to vote. Every study and audit shows that it’s exceedingly rare. Our current laws are working.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Jennifer Medina/Eric Lee
c. 2026 The New York Times Company