Luis was born in Mexico and moved to Tennessee as a toddler. His life story is a reflection of how anything is possible in this country. A decade-long community leader, Luis is now running to represent District 49 (La Vergne, Smyrna, Murfreesboro), in our State Legislature because it’s time to send a fresh perspective and a proven problem solver to our State Capitol. As extremist lawmakers work to divide us and rip away fundamental freedoms, it’s never been more clear: Now is the time to elect leaders who can deliver.

As Policy Coordinator for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Luis worked with coalitions and community members across the state to address our most significant challenges. He helped pass bipartisan legislation to make historic developments to our workforce. This new law expanded access to professional licenses to Tennesseeans who needed it most.

Before becoming a US Citizen, unjust state laws tried to deny him the opportunity to access college due to his immigration status. So, he became a leader in the fight for justice and for a future that one day can and will exist. Luis worked three jobs, including waiting tables and serving as the Legal Assistant at the Office of Immigration Services assisting victims of domestic violence navigate the criminal and immigration systems, in order to put himself through college.

During his time at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, he co-founded Students for Migrant Justice, a student organization that serves as a political home for immigrant students in Knoxville. He was awarded the prestigious Beacon of Change award, the highest student award conferred by students, for his commitment to creating change and fighting for justice. He graduated from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville as a first-generation graduate with his B.A. in Political Science.

The bottom line: Luis has a proven track record of fighting for change, tackling our greatest challenges head-on, and delivering on solutions.

Luis’s determination to fight for a Tennessee where we can all belong and thrive is motivated by the story of his family.

He was raised by a single, immigrant mother. At the age of 25, she decided to leave everything she knew & loved behind in Mexico for an opportunity at a better life for them here in Tennessee. She taught him that when you want change, you don’t wait for it, you fight for it. Like so many Tennesseans, he grew up living paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet, lacking access to healthcare, and attending underfunded public schools. Tennesseans deserve so much better.

At the core of Luis’s story is his unwavering commitment to building a better future for the community that has given him so much.

Luis has been in the fight for immigrant rights, gun violence prevention, reproductive rights, and LGBTQ rights for the past decade. He helped lead one of the state’s largest grassroots electoral campaigns in the state of Tennessee fighting to elect leaders at the local, state, and national levels who will fight for working families. Now, he’s ready to continue his work for all Tennesseeans in our State Capitol. He would become the first-ever Latino immigrant state legislator in Tennessee history - but he’s not running to make history, he’s running to make change.