Wendy Carrillo, whose mother brought her to the country from El Salvador illegally, enters race for Becerra seat
*Carrillo is running for the seat to be vacated by Rep. Xavier Becerra. Former Assembly Speaker John A. Perez and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez have announced their candidacy for the same seat. VL
By Sarah D. Wire, Los Angeles Times (1.5 minute read) 
A civic and labor activist and journalist who had been in the country illegally is joining the race for the 34th Congressional District.
Wendy Carrillo, 36, a Democrat from Boyle Heights, announced her plans to run in a post on Medium Monday.
Carrillo said in the post her parents brought her to the United States from El Salvador as a child. After learning she was not legally in the United States at age 13, Carrillo became a U.S. citizen before her 21st birthday. (Article 1 of the Constitution requires a person be a U.S. citizen for seven years to run for Congress.)
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“I was fortunate while so many others haven’t been. I take that blessing very seriously,” she wrote. “Before my 21st birthday, I became a citizen and for a few years I was the only voting member in a family of seven.”
[Photo by Ray Pok, Carrillo Campaign
