{"id":495034,"date":"2026-10-13T21:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T21:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/495034\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T21:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T21:08:11","slug":"californias-42nd-congressional-district-candidates-align-on-surveillance-tech-differ-on-immigration-policy-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/495034\/","title":{"rendered":"California\u2019s 42nd Congressional District candidates align on surveillance tech, differ on immigration policy \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although California\u2019s 42nd Congressional District<\/a> has a new look and new boundaries after last year\u2019s redistricting, familiar names appear on ballots for voters across the district.<\/p>\n

SCNG\u2019s 2026 Voter Guide<\/p>\n

The Southern California News Group asked the candidates vying to represent you several questions in order to help you get to know them better. This story is based on their responses. You can find the full questionnaires from these and other candidates on your ballot \u2014 as well as helpful tips on how to vote, explainers on the multitude of propositions and more \u2014 on our Voter Guide here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rep. Robert Garcia<\/a>, a Democrat from Long Beach, is running for his third term representing the Long Beach area. He faces Brian Burley<\/a>, a Republican who serves on the Huntington Beach City School District governing board and is also running<\/a> for Huntington Beach City Council<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

First elected to the post in 2022, Garcia, 48, is a former Long Beach mayor and councilmember who has quickly risen to leadership positions on Capitol Hill. For over a year now, the progressive Democrat has served as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, which serves as the primary investigative panel in Congress.<\/p>\n

Burley, 33, also works in information technology and higher education in addition to his school board role. He has a degree in political economy from USC, where Burley also earned master\u2019s degrees in public policy, digital media and emergency management.<\/p>\n

As for the congressional post, to no surprise, both candidates see affordability as the top issue facing constituents in their district, which stretches from Newport Beach in Orange County to Long Beach in L.A. County. And while Burley and Garcia differ strongly on other issues, like immigration, they share common ground in others, like the use of surveillance technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress cannot control every price, but it can stop making the problem worse. I will support responsible spending, tax relief for families and small businesses, expanded domestic energy production and fewer costly federal regulations,\u201d Burley said in response to a questionnaire from the Southern California News Group.<\/p>\n

Garcia, likewise, said Congress needs to support programs that \u201cput more money in people\u2019s pockets and lower costs,\u201d cut red tape around housing development and expand job training programs for modern occupations.<\/p>\n

When it comes to how the federal government could actually help make housing in California more available and affordable, Garcia said Congress needs to go after common-sense policies \u201clike streamlining regulation and cutting red tape\u201d to tackle housing shortages.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolicies like ending the tariffs on building materials, which make it impossible to build cheaply,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cIrresponsible tax cuts for large corporations and spending on a disastrous war have made mortgage rates higher, pricing more families out of the ability to buy a home. But we also have to get tough with big corporations that drive up the price of homes or treat consumers unfairly.<\/p>\n

As for housing affordability, Burley pointed to a specific program he would try to expand if voters elected him in November: mortgage credit certificate programs for first-time homebuyers. These local and state-run programs let homebuyers claim a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit<\/a> for part of the mortgage interest they pay each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongress should provide dedicated capacity for these certificates, modernize eligibility limits for high-cost areas such as Southern California and make the benefit easier to access when purchasing a home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Surveillance technology<\/p>\n

Concerns about the use of surveillance technology have intensified recently<\/a>, often relating to license plate readers made by Flock Safety.<\/p>\n

Proponents of the technology tout its ability to improve the operations of law enforcement. But opponents say these tools create mass surveillance systems that infringe on an individual\u2019s right to privacy.<\/p>\n

The public\u2019s concern over how this technology is used \u2014 and abused \u2014 is not unfounded, Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Garcia said he is leading investigations through the House Oversight Committee<\/a> into how Flock Safety handles data it collects and into how to better protect the privacy of U.S. citizens, and how that privacy conflicts at times with the collection of this data.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year, we received alarming reports that Flock\u2019s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system, marketed as a public safety tool, has been exploited to track people across state lines and to conduct unauthorized immigration enforcement,\u201d he said. \u201c(The House Oversight Committee\u2019s) work has already helped push Flock to improve their practices, but far more is needed. This issue will be a priority for Oversight Committee Democrats in the next two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burley felt just as strongly about the use of these products. He said the use of Flock and other surveillance technologies has \u201cgone too far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAmericans should not be subjected to constant surveillance simply because they are in public. These tools should be limited to targeted public-safety investigations, with warrants generally required, strict data-retention limits and safeguards against misuse,\u201d Burley said. \u201cCongress must ensure that technology supports law enforcement without sacrificing Americans\u2019 constitutional right to privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immigration<\/p>\n

The two candidates greatly varied on how they think U.S. immigration policy should look in five years.<\/p>\n

Burley said in a half-decade the U.S. \u201cshould have permanently secured borders and zero tolerance for illegal immigration.\u201d He praised the federal immigration enforcement efforts since President Donald Trump took office early last year.<\/p>\n

But it will be on Congress to make these policies permanent, Burley said, \u201cso a future administration cannot simply reverse them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI will support continued border enforcement, completion of the border wall, nationwide employment verification and stronger action against sanctuary jurisdictions,\u201d Burley said. \u201cAmerica must never return to open-border policies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garcia\u2019s views on immigration stand in contrast. As an immigrant from Peru, Garcia said he strongly believes in \u201ca secure border and enforcing our immigration laws,\u201d but how the Trump administration has carried out immigration enforcement \u201cis inhumane and must be changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Any immigrant who comes to the U.S., works hard and follows the rules \u201cshould have the same opportunities I did,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also strongly believe that our government should provide a clear pathway to citizenship to the people who have come to this country and have been good members of society,\u201d he said. \u201cImmigrants are some of the most patriotic people in our country, and make our communities stronger, richer and safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the 42nd Congressional District, registered Democrats\u00a0make up 40.65% of the voters (194,164), according to the latest statistics from the California secretary of state\u2019s office<\/a>. Registered Republicans account for 30.02% of the voters (143,378), and another 21.49% (102,655) are no party preference.<\/p>\n

For more about these candidates\u2019 \u2014 and others\u2019 \u2014 views on data centers, immigration, surveillance technology and more, view their questionnaires on our voter guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ballots have already been sent to every registered voter in California, and voting is underway. Election Day is Nov. 3.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Although California\u2019s 42nd Congressional District has a new look and new boundaries after last year\u2019s redistricting, familiar names…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[135024,1400,7,9,8,204,137,100,611,13,136],"class_list":["post-495034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-2026-california-congressional-elections","tag-2026-elections","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-election","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news","tag-orange-county","tag-politics","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}