Commentary: One of O.C.'s loudest pro-immigrant politicians is one of the unlikeliest

"The Orange city council member comes from O.C. Republican royalty. Her grandfather, Cruz, was a Mexican immigrant and civil rights pioneer who registered with the GOP in the late 1940s after Democratic leaders wouldn't help him and other activists fight school segregation against Mexican American students in Orange County. Her second cousin, Steve Ambriz, was a rising GOP star serving on the Orange City Council when he was killed by wrong-way driver in 2006."

"The 55-year-old has helped Republicans on policy and handled communications for the Orange County Taxpayers Assn. and the Richard Nixon Foundation. Friendly, smart, quick-witted and a total goodie-goodie, she corrected me last fall when I introduced her to my Chapman University history students as a Republican. To my surprise, the Orange native proclaimed that she has never been a Republican - she started out as a Democrat and is now an independent."

"And that's not the first surprise she's sprung on me. Her recent rise as one of O.C.'s most vocal politicians opposing President Trump's deportation machine has been unexpected - and welcome. She called out her council colleagues in July for not approving a resolution that would have required federal immigration agents to remove their masks and wear IDs within city limits. She connects young activists to legal and financial resources and has participated in neighborhood patrols alerting people that la migra is coming."

Arianna Barrios is an Orange city council member with Republican family roots: her grandfather Cruz registered with the GOP in the late 1940s after Democratic leaders refused help against Mexican American school segregation, and her second cousin Steve Ambriz was killed in 2006. She worked on Republican policy and communications for the Orange County Taxpayers Assn. and the Richard Nixon Foundation. Barrios identifies as an independent who began as a Democrat. She emerged as a vocal opponent of President Trump's deportation efforts, pressed colleagues for immigration-enforcement transparency, linked activists to legal and financial aid, joined neighborhood patrols warning residents about immigration raids, accompanied residents to Adelanto hearings, and hosted a two-part video series on immigration history.

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