Although Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., has been in office for less than a month, he's made waves for supporting the Laken Riley Act, designed to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit crimes while in the U.S.
"I'm bringing the perspective of working-class Latinos from Arizona," Gallego told Politico. "And that perspective, I think, has been missing."
The Laken Riley Act requires federal authorities to detain unauthorized immigrants who have been accused of certain crimes. The bill was named after Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case.
Mark Kelly, Arizona's other Democrat senator, also supported the bill. Gallego told Politico his party doesn't understand the opinions of Latinos on border security.
"I'm here to bring some more real truth about what people are thinking … and so people here and senators here aren't necessarily reliant on these immigration groups that are, I think, a lot of times, largely out of touch with where your average Latino is," Gallego said.
Gallego told Politico that the Trump campaign's stance on immigration was closer to where voters stood on the issue. Gallego won his race by two points even though President Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris by six points in Arizona.
"Our campaign, I think the reason why we did as well as we did is because we nailed it exactly where we wanted," Gallego said to Politico. "The position that some Democrats have taken in the past ... is that there shouldn't be limits on people crossing the border, that there shouldn't be deportations, that there shouldn't be restrictions for people that are causing problems, like the monster that killed Laken Riley."
Gallego said his constituents want more Border Patrol agents, more investment in securing the border, and immigration reform. He told Politico he intends to work with Republicans on a case-by-case basis.
"My relationship with the Trump administration is going to be around policy," Gallego said.