Nanette kerrigan is from californias 44th congressional district. We spoke with her on capitol hill. Congress roman nanette congresswoman nanette barragan. Tell us about what you were doing before you ran for office. I was serving on the council where i lived in hermosa beach. I was practicing law. I just got enough a flight for i had just gotten off a flight for an oil company that wanted to drill in the santa monica bay. It was a long fight. Why did you go into law . When i was a kid, my parents were poor. My mom said, you are a doctor or lawyer. That is the only way you will get out of this. When i see blood, i pass out. Why do you think they have that outlook . They were not educated. My mom had a third grade education. From what she saw, she came up with that. I do not really know how that happened. Your parents emigrated from mexico . Both of them. What was that like for them . And what affected have on you and your siblings . They came here for a better life for their children. So we would have that opportunity. You hear stories about how they struggled when they got here. They were working hard to make sure we can go to college. In latino families, it is customary that you take care of your parents. So that was one of their hopes. For me, seeing their struggle, and their own service my father was a tv repair man. Sometimes people cannot afford to pay him, and he would say that was ok. That was his form of service. So for me, it is been about paying back when i was able to get. That has had a huge impact. Now that i have made it, it has been about what can i do to help create opportunities for others . And expand opportunities. Because in my district, only 10 of students going to college. What about your siblings . You are one of 11 . Yes. What was that like growing up . It was a very packed house all the time, and it was very loud. I sometimes speak loud. And people say, im right here. Its ok. It had quite an impact. When i graduated from high school, it made me want to go away. It made me want to live in a small town. I went to davis for my first year of undergrad. It was very different than los angeles. I came back after a year. My father was ill at the time. Was your family able to join you for the swearingin . Yes. We had 14 members of my family come out. It was a big group. It was my mothers first time in washington. She has never been here before. That was real special. What was the reaction when she found out that you won . What was it like for her to be here for the swearing in of her youngest of 11 to become a member of congress . It was pretty emotional to have my mom come. She cries a lot, and then i cry. There was a lot of that happening. Both when i won and then coming out here. She was scheduled to have hip surgery and put that off so she could be here for the swearingin. What was the immigration process like for your parents to come to the United States . How do you think that shaped your outlook on immigration policy . I remember as a kid when my mom was studying for the exam. My father was a permanent resident. My father never became a citizen. I did not know that until after he passed. I do remember as a kid, studying with my mother. I would ask her questions like how many stripes are on the flag . How many stars are on the flag . I did not understand it until i got a little older. I know firsthand because i am an attorney and i represented immigrants how important it is. To see her go through and see her become a citizen, she is a huge voter, always believes in making sure she votes. It really impacted me in my ability to not only vote but to understand the importance of what it is like to have the privilege to be a citizen here. Because ive been a lawyer, i have seen people being deported. I have family who have come. A lot of them stayed at our house when i was growing up. I have been through the process of them still living in the shadows. Some of them made it through the process of daca. Immigration is not something im learning. I lived immigration. It makes it very personal. It gives me a unique perspective, which is important. Did someur siblings, of them migrate here or were you all born here . I have two brothers who were born in mexico. What was the process like for them . They were from my mothers first marriage. So i do not remember witnessing what the process was like to them. I just remember my mother going through her process. Is this something you plan to work on out here . Absolutely. I ran on the fact that we need immigration reform. When i was running, i think we all believed there would be a different outcome. So i think the objectives, the goals have changed a little. As opposed to comprehensive immigration reform, i think it is now how do we protect looks to came in under daca . We will continue to focus on trying to get comprehensive immigration reform. But given the status of the houses and the president , it is going to take a little longer. Talk a little bit more about your district. What does it look like . Who lives there . What do they do . Rep. Barragan it runs from San Francisco to the port of los angeles and it goes through some very workingclass neighborhoods. Like carson, compton, and watts, california. It is 70 latino and it is very diverse. We had the port of l. A. In the district. But immigrants across the area. A croatian community. Italians. Mexicanamericans. So for me, it is a benefit that i speak spanish, because i could talk to folks when i knocked on doors there. Who and what groups supported your race . For the house . Rep. Barragan we had a lot of diverse support. We had support from the Congressional Senate caucus here in congress. We had womens groups, emilys list, we had environmental groups, sierra club, league of conservation voters, and then we had people who believed on sending someone to washington who would fight for them. And that is what we do. We ran a campaign on my story. Of, you know, im the daughter of immigrants from mexico. I got a piece of the american dream, and now i want to make sure that you have that same shot. It started with a personal story, and then we went to some of the issues and the differences between my opponent and i. But really, it is a story of hope. And at a time when we had a very divisive president ial election, people wanted hope. It is something that wins, right . People want to know that they have opportunity for their kids. How will you put those words into action out here legislatively . , rep. Barragan part of it is protecting immigrants and families. Trying to keep them together. Because they have lost hope, and that is what we are hearing right now. What will happen . So we will stand up and fight for those families and try to find efforts even on a bipartisan level to protect those families. I think there is also from my district is also one of the highest polluted areas of the country. We talk about it as a Public Health crisis. It is a cycle of poverty that impacts it a lot of different things. The children in my district are too sick to go to school because of air pollution. The asthma rates are high. It impacts their ability to be in school, and then you only have 10 graduating. It is a cycle of addressing the environment as a Public Health issue, but it also impacts education. Making sure we try to invest in Early Childhood education is key. And trying to find ways in washington to build Common Ground and build coalitions. I think there are so many areas, trying to invest in these groups. The port of l. A. Being there is a huge economic engine in the district. It creates opportunities for the families. Is that where most of the jobs are in the district . Rep. Barragan theres a huge amount, absolutely, down at the port. Theres a lot of talk about transportation and construction funding. And if we can get money to come to the district for bridges, ports, for roads, it all creates opportunity. For me, it starts with education and health. Because if they are too sick to go to school, you have a cycle that will not work. Congresswoman, thank you for your time. Rep. Barragan thank you. Cspan, where history unfolds daily. In 1979, cspan was created as a service by americas Television Cable companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. The Democratic National committee will elect a new chair later this month. The candidates for that position met this weekend in baltimore to discuss outreach efforts and other priorities for the organization. This forum was moderated by White House Correspondent april ryan and included an introduction