Senator Alex Padilla of California was raised in the San Fernando Valley by working-class parents who immigrated from Mexico. Now Padilla’s state is at the center of the nation’s immigration debate, not to mention issues like free speech, state’s rights and redistricting. Padilla himself gained national attention when he was forcibly removed and handcuffed after trying to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a news conference. Padilla sat down with “The Interview” host Lulu Garcia-Navarro to talk about all of it, including whether he’s weighing a run for governor next year. Read the conversation on NYTimes.com: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/04/magazine/alex-padilla-interview.html “The Interview” features conversations with the world’s most fascinating people. Each week, co-hosts David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro talk to compelling, influential figures in culture, politics, business, sports and beyond — illuminating who they are, why they do what they do and how they impact the rest of us. Subscribe to “The Interview”: https://www.youtube.com/@theinterviewpodcast Subscribe to New York Times audio: https://bit.ly/3Qz3GZu Download the New York Times app: https://bit.ly/4gZdoip #theinterview Chapters: 00:01 About Sen. Alex Padilla 01:36 Padilla on being forcibly removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference 06:29 Padilla responds to JD Vance calling him “José” 09:00 Padilla’s upbringing, from working-class parents to MIT to getting politically active 13:11 The legacy of California’s Prop 187, which galvanized the state’s Latinos 15:55 What does the U.S. owe undocumented immigrants? 18:34 Why did Democrats lose Latinos during the last election? 20:07 Padilla responds to his record on opposing asylum restrictions and Biden’s 2024 bipartisan border security bill 23:24 Current border policy and the asylum system 26:47 The effects of Trump’s immigration crackdown 28:12 California’s No Secret Police Act banning federal law enforcement from wearing masks 29:32 What’s going to happen to Dreamers? 32:01 Prop 50 is putting redistricting on California’s ballot 34:46 The government shutdown 37:24 Democrats’ unpopularity with Democrats 39:41 Is being a “resistance state” good for California? 41:12 Will Padilla run for governor next year?