By admin 
Democrat Xavier Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign has hired his adult daughter, immigration attorney Clarisa Reyes-Becerra, as deputy policy director. The campaign has paid her more than $17,000 since July 1 for her work.
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Reyes-Becerra volunteered for the campaign during the primary but became a paid staffer at some point after the June 2 election, according Becerra’s spokesperson Jonathan Underland. He said Reyes-Becerra’s job involves meeting with stakeholders on issues ranging from healthcare to wildfires, helping develop campaign communication, and briefing her father and other members of the campaign on key issues.
“With Steve Hilton co-signing Trump’s ICE reign of terror, the value of an experienced attorney with a focus on immigration on our policy team cannot be overstated,” Underland said. “We’re lucky to have her.”
Reyes-Becerra could not be reached for comment.
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Paying family members using campaign dollars is not illegal as long as family members are paid for actual work at a reasonable rate, and is not unusual in Congress. But some lawmakers have called for tightening those rules, arguing it creates the appearance of impropriety.
Recent polls show Becerra with large, double-digit leads over Hilton headed into the busiest stretch of the campaign. The Democrat emerged from a crowded primary by pitching himself as a steady hand in turbulent times. He overcame attacks related to his oversight of campaign finances after his former chief of staff and advisor pleaded guilty to siphoning funds from Becerra’s dormant campaign account.
Prosecutors characterized Becerra as a victim in the scheme and the former state attorney general told The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board that the illicit payments occurred “outside of my vision.”
Following her father’s footsteps
Like her father, Reyes-Becerra got her undergraduate degree at Stanford University before going on to law school — in her case, Columbia Law School in New York City.
After her 2019 graduation, Reyes-Becerra worked at a series of nonprofits that aim to help Central Valley immigrants and farmworkers: the California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Centro Binacional para el Desarrollo Indígena Oaxaqueño and most recently, as managing attorney at the California Immigration Project. She also served on the boards of the Legal Aid Association of California and First 5 Monterey County, according to her LinkedIn profile.
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It’s not clear if Reyes-Becerra is still working at the California Immigration Project while on the campaign or if she was paid for her previous work there. The group’s 2024 tax filings show Reyes-Becerra wasn’t compensated for the 2.5 hours a week she worked at the group. The nonprofit’s executive director did not respond to a request for comment and Underland said he was not sure of her status at the organization.
Campaign finance records show Reyes-Becerra has been reimbursed for around $4,300 worth of travel expenses since April 19. Becerra’s other two daughters are not involved in day to day campaign operations, according to Underland. All three spoke at Becerra’s primary election night rally in Los Angeles on June 2.
A 2005 Los Angeles Times analysis found that at least 39 members of Congress paid their spouses, children or other relatives out of campaign funds, or had hired companies in which a family member had a financial interest. A 2017 investigation from The Hill found that more than a dozen lawmakers had family members on their payrolls.
University of Pacific law professor Mary-Beth Moylan said the ethics of Becerra hiring his daughter hinged on the specifics of the arrangement.
“The ethics of the question are very much wrapped up in the legal question of, ‘Is she qualified and is she doing the work?’” Moylan said. “And if those things are true, then I don’t think there’s really an ethical problem.”
As for the optics of the situation for voters, Moylan said that was up for debate.
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“I think that’s a question that voters need to decide,” she said.
This story was originally published September 30, 2026 at 1:47 PM.