The California governor’s race has taken a sharp turn into personal genealogy, with Republican Steve Hilton challenging Democrat Xavier Becerra’s description of his father’s immigrant experience.
The political stakes of the California gubernatorial race shifted into the personal sphere this week as Republican candidate Steve Hilton leveled accusations of dishonesty against his Democratic opponent. Xavier Becerra. At the heart of the dispute is Becerra’s public description of his parents as Mexican immigrants—a characterization Hilton argues is a fabrication meant to garner political favor.
Hilton. a British-born candidate who has received an endorsement from President Trump. seized on comments Becerra made during a recent CNN debate where the Democrat stated his parents came to California “with $12.” Hilton and his supporters have since scoured genealogical records. pointing to the fact that Becerra’s father. Manuel. was born in Sacramento in 1928. Historical records show Manuel Becerra moved to Mexico as a child during the Great Depression. grew up in Tijuana. married in Guadalajara. and returned to California in the 1950s—the era when his son Xavier was born.
“Unlike Xavier Becerra. I am an immigrant. ” Hilton posted on social media. accusing his opponent of “LYING” about his family’s experience to score identity points. The attack has framed the Becerra family story as a case of stolen valor. but the narrative has met fierce resistance from those who argue it relies on a narrow. inaccurate definition of the Mexican American experience.
For many families. particularly those in the El Cargadero diaspora. birth in the United States has long been a technicality that allowed for legal entry. while the lived experience remained firmly rooted in Mexico. Alexandro José Gradilla. a professor of Chicano studies at Cal State Fullerton. notes that during the Ellis Island era. European immigrants similarly returned to their home countries with U.S.-born children. who often faced the same hardships as newcomers when they returned to the U.S. as adults. “We don’t call those people expats or returnees—‘immigrant’ is the only intelligible label we understand,” Gradilla said. “Until we come up with a better label, Becerra’s dad is an immigrant.”.
When asked about the attacks during a press conference regarding Proposition 39. Becerra pushed back sharply. highlighting the discrimination his father faced regardless of his birthright citizenship. He suggested that Hilton’s confusion stems from a fundamental lack of understanding regarding the history of the borderlands. “So this is what happens when people who don’t understand immigration start to pontificate. ” Becerra said. noting that while Hilton is an immigrant himself. he has not researched the specific complexities of the Mexican American narrative.
The friction between the two candidates reflects a widening gap in how the American immigrant story is understood. While Hilton demands a rigid adherence to a narrative of arrival and assimilation. many Mexican Americans exist in a reality of back-and-forth movement—a fluidity that has defined their culture for generations. As Gradilla points out, the history of families being forced out of the U.S. during the Great Depression. or choosing to leave to avoid modern immigration enforcement. is a living history that persists to this day.
Ultimately, the dispute over Becerra’s family history has become a distraction from the broader policy battles of the race. While critics have plenty of grounds to challenge Becerra—ranging from his limited public rallies to his policy platforms—the fixation on his father’s status appears to be a calculated. if divisive. attempt by the Hilton campaign to gain traction among voters.
Xavier Becerra Steve Hilton California Governor Immigration Politics Mexican American history election 2026