Posted February 26, 2026

 

Editor’s Note: The following are remarks from elected officials and community members after the President’s State of the Union speech on February 24, 2026:

 

U.S Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA)

We just heard Donald Trump do what he does best: lie.

He lies about the economy.

He lies about his violent and out-of-control enforcement of immigration laws. And he’s trying to deceive us about his plans to interfere with this the elections this November.

The truth is that the State of our Union does not feel strong for everyone.

Not when the costs of rent, food, and electricity keep rising.

Not when Republicans raise our medical costs to fund tax cuts for billionaires. And definitely not when federal agents – armed and masked – terrorize our communities by targeting people because of the color of their skin or for speaking Spanish — including immigrants with legal status and citizens.

This chaos is the product of the dangerous whims of one person: Donald Trump.

Democrats are working to lower costs, put an end to the chaos, and fight corruption. Despite Trump’s lies, we know what we’re seeing with our own eyes.

We see ICE agents using excessive force: entering homes without judicial warrants and shooting at cars with families still inside. Placing people in detention centers without adequate access to doctors, healthy food, or clean drinking water.

Since January of last year, 40 people have died in ICE custody.

They have even taken the lives of two American citizens in broad daylight, simply for exercising their freedom of speech.

These operations began last year in Los Angeles, in my hometown, and have spread to communities in every corner of the country.

And that’s not the only threat. Trump wants to manipulate the next elections.

He has signed executive orders intended to prevent millions of eligible voters from exercising their right to vote. And he has suggested using ICE agents at polling places to intimidate voters. These are tactics we have seen in other countries governed by corrupt dictators.

And like them, Donald Trump is afraid of losing power. He is afraid to admit that his policies have failed and that voters will reject his agenda this November.

Donald Trump will not be president forever.

More importantly, the Dream that has inspired generations of Americans and immigrants will remain long after Trump is gone.

I know this Dream well — it is the American Dream.

I am the son of Santos and Lupe Padilla. My parents met in Los Angeles after emigrating from Mexico and raised me and my siblings in the beautiful community of Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley.

With hard work and dignity, they worked humble and honorable jobs: my father as a cook and my mother cleaning houses.

They believed in the value of honest work, their children’s education, and they always lent a hand to any neighbor who needed it.

These are the values that shaped California’s first Latino United States Senator. And it is in this spirit that I speak to you tonight.

I know many of us are tired. I see it and I understand it. My wife Angela and I are raising our children in these difficult times — so we feel it too.

I speak with parents who are afraid to drop their children off at school.

With workers who fear ICE will arrive at their workplace.

People who are afraid to go to church in person or keep their doctor’s appointment.

Instilling fear in people is not strength. Much less leadership.

Last year, many of you saw when federal agents pushed me to the ground and handcuffed me for demanding answers from this administration over its military occupation in Los Angeles. They may have knocked me down for a moment, but I got right back up. As our parents taught us: if you fall seven times, get up eight. I am still here. Standing. Still fighting. And I know you are still standing and still fighting too.

This country has always been shaped by people who were told they did not belong — but who persevered and kept moving forward.

We held our heads high against degrading policies in California, in Arizona, in Texas, and elsewhere.

Just like the Irish and Italians who overcame signs that read “Need not apply.”

Like the Chinese communities who resisted the Chinese Exclusion Act.

Like Japanese Americans who persevered in the years after their internment.

Like those who refused to sit in the back of the bus, or the people who were told whom they could or could not love.

And like the veterans who served and sacrificed so much so that we could raise our voices against injustice — even when that injustice comes from our own government.

This is the history of the United States: rising from periods of darkness into brighter days.

My message tonight is simple:

Only the people save the people. Our democracy shines brightest when we stand up and defend one another.

There is a better path. While Trump’s illegal policies and tariffs continue to drive up prices, Democrats are working to lower costs. Trump is trying to make voting harder — Democrats want to make it more accessible. And while he seeks to expand the reach of ICE, Democrats are pushing for oversight, accountability, and clear limits on its actions.

I am not telling you it will be easy, but we cannot give up.

Trump does not want us to recognize our power.

And he is doing things we never would have imagined possible here in the United States. Donald Trump promised to improve the country and our lives, and many believed him — but we are living a nightmare that divides and destroys our communities.

You cannot improve our country while violating our fundamental rights. Our freedom of speech. Protection against unlawful detention. And equality under the law, for everyone. Without exception.

This November, we will have the opportunity to make real change.

We have a clear choice…

Between division or unity.

Between lies or the truth.

Between chaos or competence.

Between a future that helps the rich get richer, or a future that puts working families first.

How can the people save the people?

By raising our voices — marching — organizing our communities — and voting.

That is why I ask you something clear and urgent: prepare, starting today, for your voice to reverberate this November.

If you are eligible, register to vote. Make sure your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your coworkers do the same.

Remember the harm Trump has caused and go out this November to VOTE.

The work ahead is important.

The work to protect our democracy and defend our freedoms.

The work to build a fair economy for our families.

Yes, it is a big task — and it is the responsibility of our generation.

As Bad Bunny reminded us a few weeks ago: “Together, we are America.”

Together, we rise, because our faith is stronger than any disappointment or any obstacle — including Trump.

And together, we will build the future our children deserve.

Thank you very much for your attention tonight.

May God bless you. And may God bless the United States.

The proud son of Mexican immigrants, Alex Padilla is the first Latino elected to represent California in the United States Senate.

 

 

U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) was joined by Evergreen High School shooting survivor and student council president, Tyler Guyton, as her guest for the speech. (Photo: Courtesy Rep. Pettersen)

 

U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen (CO-07)

Families in Colorado are already struggling to make ends meet with the rising cost of groceries, housing, and health care. Parents are worried about their kids’ safety at school and whether their children will grow up with fewer opportunities than they did.

Instead of delivering a clear and positive message that unites our country, Donald Trump doubled down on his anti-immigrant agenda, espoused more lies and hateful rhetoric, and name-called and mocked his political adversaries. He is unhinged and unwell. How much worse does it have to get before more people are willing to stand up for the rule of law and for our country?

Families can barely scrape enough money together to put food on the table and pay their rent because of Donald Trump’s tariffs, mass firings, unlawful withholding of federal funding, and the cascading impact he is having on our spiraling economy. He is doing massive long-term damage to our economic stability and standing in the world while he is selling off our country’s interests to enrich himself — increasing his wealth by nearly $4 billion since he returned to office.

Running for president was never about anyone but Donald Trump. He has never cared about anyone but himself and continues to show it every day. He is selling off the future of our kids and that’s a reality none of us should accept.

Sitting in the chamber tonight with my guest, 18-year-old Tyler — the student council president at Evergreen High School — by my side, I was reminded why we can’t give up our fight for the future our kids deserve. A future where our kids are safe in their classrooms, opportunities aren’t just reserved for the wealthy, and you aren’t targeted based on what you look like or where you are from.

This is not a time where we can sit on the sidelines. We can never give up on the fight to fulfill the fundamental promise of our country as Trump chips away at the American dream. The next generations are counting on us.

 

 

U.S. Congressman Jason Crow (CO-06)

Coloradans are worse off because of President Trump’s policies and the chaos under his administration.

Trump said he would lower prices. Instead, he cut health care for millions of Americans, enacted tariffs that raised housing and food costs, and passed a massive tax cut for the rich.

As Coloradans struggle to get by, the President has used his office to enrich his own family through corrupt deals. He’s protected the elite by covering up a massive sex abuse scandal he himself is implicated in.

Trump has unfairly attacked Colorado and Coloradans’ rights. He’s sought to silence any dissent, weaponizing the federal government against his perceived opponents, including me. He’s enabled ICE to become a rogue and lawless agency that murders U.S. citizens.

Trump has damaged our relationship with our allies, cozied up to dictators, and somehow managed to bomb seven countries in a year. Under his failed leadership abroad, America stands alone, and Americans are less safe as a result.

Americans are sick and tired of the chaos, lies, and corruption under this President. In Congress, I will continue to fight back and lead the charge to hold Trump, J.D. Vance, and Republicans accountable for their failed policies.

 

 

Democratic Party of New Mexico

It takes a Trumpian level of delusion to brag so much while failing so hard. Trump’s backwards economic agenda and failed extreme immigration policies have sunk his approval ratings. Tonight, we saw more of the same Trump that Americans are fed up with – divisive rhetoric, excuses, and throwing ideas against the wall to appeal to an ever-shrinking base.

Trump adamantly defended his illegal tariffs, which would be the biggest tax increase on working Americans in history, essentially a sales tax on virtually everything, while he downplayed the affordability crisis he created. Don’t let his empty words fool you – while working Americans suffer, billionaires benefit from their massive tax cuts gifted to them in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ as the Trump family has already pocketed $2.25 billion from grifting off the presidency.

Instead of seeing a President wanting to fix problems, Americans heard Donald Trump double down on divisive rhetoric and stupid ideas that have already failed, essentially telling Americans we have no choice but to get used to tariffs and high costs, and that there’s even more stupid ideas to come. We also saw Trump use one of the oldest, most tired tricks in the far-right playbook – vilifying immigrants and blaming them for failed economic policy.

It is a disgrace that the President showed no concern for high costs, refusing to empathize with the Americans who have to work hard to put food on the table. Trump’s second term has been nothing but broken promises and one debacle after another; and tonight’s lethargic address was just more of the same.

 

 

NALEO and NALEO Educational Fund
CEO Erica Bernal-Martínez

Tonight’s State of the Union address comes at a defining moment for our nation — one that is testing our institutions, our values, and our commitment to a democracy where every community has a voice.
As the president addressed the country this evening, Latino lawmakers made their voices heard — both on the floor and directly with the communities they represent. We stand in solidarity with these elected leaders who, every day, are confronted with challenges created by overly aggressive immigration enforcement measures that are harming families and destabilizing communities and local economies. Their leadership reflects courage and moral clarity at a time when both are urgently needed.
At NALEO Educational Fund, we believe in the dignity and rights of immigrants. Policies that sow fear in hardworking communities undermine trust, weaken our economy, and erode the principles of fairness and due process that define our democracy. Speaking out against harm is principled leadership.
The same is true when it comes to protecting the broader foundations of democratic participation. We are witnessing renewed challenges to the core pillars of our democracy — including efforts that make it harder for eligible Americans to vote and barriers that restrict access to citizenship and naturalization. These attacks strike at the heart of our organization’s mission. Ensuring fair access to the ballot and supporting eligible lawful permanent residents on the path to citizenship are essential to a representative democracy. When participation is narrowed, our nation is diminished.
This year marks the 50^th anniversary of NALEO’s founding. In 1976, Congressman Edward R. Roybal built this organization on a simple but powerful belief: Latino communities deserve representation — not as a favor, but as a right. He understood that safeguarding participation, expanding opportunity, and defending democratic institutions would require sustained leadership across party lines. NALEO was created to endure — and to continue that work across generations.
That is why being nonpartisan does not mean being values-neutral. It means working across political divides to strengthen civic participation and deliver meaningful results for the communities leaders serve.
Today, that responsibility also means addressing the affordability crisis facing families throughout the country. Rising housing costs, exorbitant grocery bills, unaffordable healthcare expenses, and prohibitive childcare costs are not partisan issues — they are everyday realities that affect whether families can thrive and fully participate in civic life. We are encouraged to see elected and appointed officials step beyond traditional divides to pursue practical solutions that strengthen economic stability while upholding democratic principles.
As our nation approaches its 250^th year, democracy itself is being tested under unprecedented pressures. For five decades, NALEO and NALEO Educational Fund have worked to ensure that Latinos are not sidelined in moments like these — that our communities have fair access to the ballot, a meaningful voice in public life, and the opportunity to be full stakeholders in our democracy.
Fifty years after Congressman Roybal founded NALEO, the work he began continues and is as urgent as ever. Tonight’s address makes clear that the fight for fair access, full representation, and equal participation is ongoing, but so is our resolve.