Latinos across the United States—whether born here or not—are confronting a profound, generational crisis. At the heart of this struggle lies the question of racial identity and belonging in America. While many Latinos have historically been hesitant to engage in explicit conversations about race, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement have forced the issue into the open. They have placed the non-white identity of most Latinos at the center of their political project—turning racial exclusion into a rallying cry.
Yet tragically, much of our Latino leadership remains asleep at the wheel. Many of our so-called national organizations—The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), among them—still treat this as merely an immigration issue. But this is not simply about immigration. This is about race.
The annual conference, which takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, this year, presents a rare and powerful opportunity to influence the national Latino political agenda. With more than 7,000 members and approximately 2,400 attendees—including members of Congress, U.S. Senators, city council members, school board members, and college trustees—the conference brings together the highest concentration of Latino elected and appointed officials in the country.
NALEO has the potential—if it chooses—to mobilize tens of millions of dollars in support of Latino communities and shift the national narrative. By re-centering the agenda around justice, dignity, and real protection for our people, NALEO can play a transformative role in this moment. If the organization evolves, our communities stand to gain much-needed protection and power.
It is about who gets to be considered American. And in this arena, Trump and MAGA are not just talking—they are winning. Their rhetoric and policies are not theoretical. They are playing out in daily acts of state harassment, ICE raids, de-naturalization proceedings, and surveillance of Brown communities across the country.
What is most dangerous is that many Latino leaders remain intellectually and politically unprepared to grasp the deeper ideological assault. They either do not understand, or refuse to believe, that Trump and MAGA are waging a cultural and racial war aimed at excluding Latinos from the definition of American identity. And because of that failure, it is ordinary people—on the streets, in schools, in workplaces—who are paying the price.
One of the clearest examples of this racial project came recently from Vice President J.D. Vance. Speaking at the far-right Claremont Institute, Vance stated bluntly: “The country belongs more to those who share its common history, not just those who ascribe to its values.”
The time for polite moderation is over. We need boldness. We need mass political education. We need legal defense funds, organizing infrastructure, and a renewed belief that Latinos are not guests in this country—we are foundational to it.
That is not just a comment about patriotism—it is a redefinition of citizenship itself. It reflects a dangerous belief that America is not a nation of shared principles, but of shared bloodlines, ancestry, and race. Vance’s comments are not fringe—they are part of a growing movement to narrow the meaning of American belonging. And if we fail to confront it directly, we may soon find ourselves on the outside looking in.
This vision of America, espoused by MAGA elites, explicitly rejects the idea that anyone can become an American by embracing the nation’s values. Instead, it resurrects a European-style ethno-nationalism, where citizenship is inherited, not chosen; restricted, not inclusive. Critics have rightly labeled this a shift away from a “creedal” American identity—built on freedom, equality, and shared responsibility—toward one rooted in race and heritage.
For decades, some of us warned that this was coming. That white nationalism would attempt to redefine who belongs and who doesn’t. That the idea of America as a multiracial democracy was never guaranteed, and that without vigilance, it could be reversed. We now see that reversal underway—in policy, in rhetoric, and in the increasing boldness of those in power.
What’s worse, groups like NALEO and others have not risen to meet this moment. In the face of such an existential threat, they continue to host conferences, publish policy briefs, and raise money as if we are living in normal times. We are not. The very definition of who counts as American is being rewritten before our eyes. And our silence—or moderation—will not protect us.
We cannot afford to continue pretending that this is just another policy cycle. Our communities deserve leaders and organizations that see the stakes clearly and act with urgency. The time for polite moderation is over. We need boldness. We need mass political education. We need legal defense funds, organizing infrastructure, and a renewed belief that Latinos are not guests in this country—we are foundational to it.
Sure, NALEO members do not wear vests with the letters “NALEO” emblazoned on them—but maybe they should. So we’re left to assess the organization’s impact in other ways. A quick look at their conference agenda for this year might be a good place to start. In it, you would expect to find a sense of urgency given the current crisis. The problem is, it is missing. What you are left with instead is the feeling that it is business as usual.
Every session—from mental healthcare to land use policy—should be focused on the current crisis. With tens of thousands of Brown people being detained and arrested by ICE, the U.S. military roving, and other federal authorities terrorizing our communities across the nation, no other item should appear on any organization’s conference or workshop program. All hands should be on deck. And with the midterm elections fast approaching, the urgency could not be greater. Every discussion must reflect the stakes we face.
Of all the sessions at this conference, only four sessions out of the four-day conference are directly tied to the crisis. That’s not enough, NALEO!
The dream of a racially pure White nation never came to pass because it was never grounded in reality.
Make no mistake – the vision proposed by Vance and his ilk has no place for Brown people, especially Mexicans and Brown communities. But this vile rhetoric is nothing new. What is new, to some extent, is that it is now coming from the office of the Vice President of the United States.
Anti-Mexicanism has deep roots in this country. It took shape early in the republic’s history, as the nation pushed westward in pursuit of expansion. In these supposedly empty lands, settlers kept running into people they hadn’t accounted for. First, it was Native Americans. Then, it was the so-called mongrel Mexicans. We were seen as an inconvenient presence from the very beginning. At the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the ink had not even dried before Anglo Americans began stripping us of our rights and forcing us into second-class status. Manifest Destiny was the justification; power was the objective.
The dream of a racially pure White nation never came to pass because it was never grounded in reality. And in the end, it was the “blood and soilers’” own greed that undermined their vision. The demand for cheap labor – wherever they could find it—made their fantasy of racial purity impossible to sustain.
So much has changed. And yet, so much remains the same.
And if some readers think this is hyperbole, they need only listen to the growing chorus of dissenting voices on the Supreme Court, or to leading academics, economists, historians, civil rights activists, and legal scholars who are ringing the alarm bells on a regular basis. Their conclusions are converging on a frightening consensus: that the guardrails of our democracy are eroding, and we may be witnessing the slow unraveling of the republic as we know it.
So if politics as usual won’t suffice, what is needed?
From the outset, it appears that the levers of mainstream institutions are moving too slowly—or worse, are ineffectual—in stopping the relentless attacks on our communities. To be fair, there have been some positive signs. A recent federal court order directing the Trump administration to stop racially profiling Latinos is a case in point. But we’ve seen this play out before. It will not stop ICE, Border Patrol, or other federal agencies from carrying out their unjust actions. They will simply deny wrongdoing and continue as usual.
In this case, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was a lead plaintiff. This foundational civil rights organization, with a long history of using litigation as its main strategy, stepped up yet again.
Meanwhile, a growing chorus within the Democratic Party is demanding that political leaders take a more aggressive stance against the administration’s assaults. Some local figures, such as Congressman Robert Garcia of Long Beach, are being elevated to national leadership in the hopes of shifting the character of the fight.
Some of our organizations appear to be stuck in purely defensive mode, not offering what is necessary for the fight that is already at our doorstep.
Then, there’s Pepe Aguilar, Grammy award winner, who recently released a single to benefit CHIRLA, a grassroots immigrant advocacy group. Cultural leaders are stepping in where civic leaders fail. This is the kind of solidarity we need at scale. This is imagination!
This is all encouraging—but it is still not enough.
Su Voto Es Su Voz is not going to cut it. Do not get us wrong—voting remains a fundamental part of our democratic process. But we have to go far beyond that. Now is the time to advance structural changes that undo the damage inflicted by the MAGA movement. That means both legacy and emerging organizations must develop new strategies to combat authoritarianism, create systems of accountability, and rebuild the guardrails of democracy—ones that extend beyond the limited vision of the Founding Fathers.
The crisis is here. The danger to our democracy—and our place in it—is real.
Instead of national leaders attempting to silence segments of our communities, like HONOR PAC, with moderation, we need leadership that advances dignity, civic engagement, and inclusion.
Across the political aisle, conservatives—often rooted in religious nationalism—have built organizations and electoral infrastructure with a singular goal: dismantling the fragile protections that Brown communities have fought for over generations. They cheer when militarized law enforcement patrols the streets of Los Angeles. They fund legislation that institutionalizes racial profiling and mass detention.
By comparison, some of our organizations appear to be stuck in purely defensive mode, not offering what is necessary for the fight that is already at our doorstep. In addition to direct strategies on the streets right now, we also need long-term planning—bold and unapologetic—to safeguard our communities from the relentless assaults on our bodies and our right to be here.
Tacit affirmations by organizations like NALEO in support of protester rights are weak, ineffective, and—given the realities on the ground—at worst, irresponsible.
We now have a critical mass of Brown elected officials. What we need is action.
Latino organizations must evolve. Panel discussions, workshops, and black-tie galas are no substitute for on-the-ground strategy and resistance. It is not about dismantling existing institutions, but about reimagining what they should become. Instead of concentrating resources in legacy organizations, we should be supporting regional groups doing the daily work—legal clinics, youth organizers, and immigrant defense networks. That is where real civic power is built.
Trump, Vance, and the MAGA movement have made their views known. We know where we stand. With the proverbial line in the sand now clearly drawn, our national organizations must declare where they specifically stand on issues. If the institutions built to protect us cannot rise to meet this moment, then our communities must.
History has shown that when everyday people organize, they can transform the course of a nation. First, we must stop waiting for permission. NALEO and other national organizations have the opportunity right now to be the organizations that their founders envisioned. Whether they choose to seize the moment will depend on whether we allow them to continue being moderates in a radically ugly train called Trump or MAGA.
The purpose behind the critique is not simply to call out NALEO, but to push for a deeper, more urgent conversation about how Latino leadership responds to immigration raids, federal resource distribution, and the protection of our communities. We now have a critical mass of Brown elected officials. What we need is action.
