Reyna’s priorities for the 18th district.
Immigration
Under President Trump, immigration policy has come to the forefront. As a child of immigrants, I strongly oppose the President’s aggressive and unconstitutional attacks on immigrants. I believe all immigrants should be treated with respect and dignity and should not have their legal status threatened by unconstitutional executive orders.
This nation was built by immigrants, who continue to be a strong foundation of our society to this day. While our immigration process could be improved, we should have empathy for those who seek to come here and form a better life for themselves and their families, not demonize them.
Houston is one of the most diverse cities in the country, which also makes it one of the most unique and beautiful cities in the country. Houston would not be the vibrant city it is today without a welcoming immigration policy and attitude.
Environment and Climate Change
I believe that we should seek to preserve the beauty of this planet and ensure that it remains livable for all who inhabit it. While climate change is historically cyclical, there is no doubt that humans have aggressively sped up this process over the previous several centuries via carbon emissions and the destruction of the ozone layer through industrialization and fossil fuel extraction.
While I understand that modern society needs cost-effective fuel and energy, we must hold companies that pollute, emit toxins, and destroy the earth accountable. We must also focus on transitioning towards green and renewable energy.
I believe that universal healthcare is a human right. A healthy population is a productive and happy population. Therefore, it is in the best interests of the United States to ensure that its citizenry is healthy.
As our healthcare system quickly falls down the worldwide rankings, we must work to stop this slide and catch up with our allies in Europe, who have managed to create universal healthcare systems without breaking their budgets or hurting their healthcare industry.
As the richest nation in the world, we can surely find it within our massive budget to create a new and improved healthcare system that benefits everyone, not just the wealthy or those with expensive health insurance.
Universal Healthcare
Housing Crisis
We are living in a time with an unprecedented housing crisis. Our unhoused population is large and continuing to grow, while many young professionals who would be able to afford a home in the past are not able to in 2025.
Many young people today dream of owning a home, but are not able to due to the high cost of modern home ownership. There are hundreds of thousands of empty homes across the country that are owned by private equity firms that have no interest in thwarting the housing crisis and increasing homeownership, only in profits. It is not in the interest of these firms to help people become homeowners, but to continue the cycle of renting.
We are stifling our economy by not addressing this issue. By forcing people to spend up to half of their income on rent, they are not able to spend as much on goods and services or build a nest egg or retirement fund. We are hamstringing future generations by allowing these firms and banks to extort the population for short-term profits. Houston is not immune to this issue. While Texas is more affordable than many other states, metro areas in Texas, like Houston, have also seen housing prices skyrocket and home ownership decrease.