Will Congressman Pete Aguilar Step Up?

By Javier Hernandez, Executive Director, Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice

Congressman Pete Aguilar represents one of the most immigrant-rich and hard-working regions in the country, San Bernardino in the heart of the Inland Empire. He is one of the most powerful Latinos in Congress, a member of leadership, and a voice that could influence the national conversation on justice, safety, and humanity. Yet today, our community is asking one simple question, will Congressman Pete Aguilar step up to protect immigrant families?

Our region has been under attack. Immigrant families and US Citizens in his district, his direct constituents, have been shot at by supposed federal agents. Others have been chased into medical clinics, harassed, and detained in broad daylight. These aren’t distant headlines, these are the streets, homes, and workplaces of the very people who elected Congressman Pete Aguilar to represent them.

When violence strikes our communities – we need leadership. We need a congressman who will use his power to demand accountability from federal agencies that act with impunity. We need a leader who will use his platform to say clearly: our communities should not be hunted, shot at, or harassed in the United States of America.

At the Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice, we don’t have the luxury of silence or delay. Every day, we are on the frontlines, informing people of their rights, running our immigrant defense hotline, providing legal support, and hosting community workshops. We are doing our part to protect our neighbors. But we need our representatives, especially one with Pete Aguilar’s influence, to do theirs.

Congressman Aguilar has the opportunity right now to use his position to set an agenda that will protect immigrant communities, demand accountability for federal agents who operate in our region, and to ensure transparency and justice for all. While Congressman Aguilar’s recent remarks at the Chicago Press conference were significant, his constituency now requires his commitment to three crucial actions:

Cease unconstitutional arrests and the use of force against all civilians.
Reverse the appropriations of the “Big Beautiful Bill” that contribute to raids, deportations, and family separations.

Terminate all funding for private prison companies such as GEO Group and CoreCivic.

For too long, immigrant communities have been told to be patient, to be grateful, to stay quiet. But silence has never saved us. What we need now are leaders who will fight for safety and dignity, not just when it’s politically convenient, but when it truly matters.

Congressman Aguilar, this is your moment.

Will you step up?