AUSTIN 鈥� Almost immediately after assuming his new role as chairman of the , state Rep. Ram贸n Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth, left no doubt that he planned an activist trajectory as he fired off statement after statement during the opening days of the 2025 Legislature.
One such statement assailed President Donald Trump鈥檚 emerging immigration policies as a threat to 鈥渢he very fabric of our nation.鈥� Another vowed the caucus鈥� opposition to possible immigration raids in Texas schools. Romero lamented a House rule change blocking Democrats from chairing committees but at the same time held out hope that lawmakers were embarking on 鈥渁 productive session where all Texans will benefit.鈥�
Interviewed in his office on the fourth floor of the State Capitol, Romero said the caucus, widely known as MALC, is facing daunting challenges as Trump presses ahead on beefed-up immigration enforcement with support from Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans who control state government.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of people in the political world right now that are looking for a scapegoat, and they point to the Latino community,鈥� said Romero, 51. 鈥淲e all know that the immigration issue has been top of mind.鈥�
One of Romero鈥檚 first major initiatives includes the appointment of a six-member committee within MALC to produce a strategic plan for border development. The project would be funded with $11 billion that Abbott is seeking in reimbursement to Texas for the cost of border security and wall construction during the Biden administration.
The money, Romero said, should be used to 鈥渁ddress the real needs of our border communities,鈥� including infrastructure, workforce development, trade and security, with an overall goal 鈥渢o rebuild the border and keep jobs in Texas.鈥� He named Rep. Eddie Morales Jr., an Eagle Pass Democrat, to head the project.
In taking the reins of what is widely known as the oldest and largest Mexican American legislative caucus in the nation, Romero marks another step in a personal journey that started in childhood poverty in east Fort Worth and followed with self-made success in business and politics.
After defeating 18-year incumbent Democratic Rep. Lon Burnam to take office in 2015, the lifelong Democrat is entering his sixth term in the House as the only Latino to represent Tarrant County in the Legislature. His unanimous election by the MALC membership to chair the coalition extends his influence far beyond his east-side legislative boundaries in House District 90.
Navigating choppy partisan waters
Established a half-century ago to give Mexican-Americans a voice in a mostly all-white legislative assembly, MALC has grown to just under 40 members in the 150-member GOP-led House and is at the center of virtually every legislative battle shaping voting rights and quality of life. The organization鈥檚 growth in membership and stature reflect Texas Hispanics鈥� growth into the state鈥檚 largest demographic group, with 12 million people accounting for about 40% of the population.
For decades, MALC was composed entirely of Democrats. A handful of Republicans gained a foothold when their party鈥檚 candidates crushed Democrats in a 2010 election rout. Six Republicans are now on the MALC roster following a pickup of two representatives in 2024, when Trump made deep inroads in Black and Hispanic sections of the state that had remained defiantly Democratic.
The shift in Latino voting patterns was a factor in Trump鈥檚 defeat of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, with some worried Democrats calling it a critical wake-up call to do a better job of messaging and outreach in Hispanic areas.
鈥淚 think that we did not do as good a job as we should have in connecting with that community,鈥� acknowledged Romero, who campaigned for Harris and says he 鈥渁bsolutely supported鈥� the Democratic ticket.
Romero said the presence of Hispanic Republicans in MALC spotlights a core premise that the organization鈥檚 goals transcend party politics.
鈥淭he needs of our community are not unique to Democrats or Republicans,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike 99% of what happens in the Legislature, we are in agreement. We need good schools, we need public safety, we need infrastructure. And as a bloc of almost 40 votes, we are a very important part of the Texas Legislature.鈥�
The organization officially describes itself as bipartisan, but given its overwhelming Democratic numbers, historical roots and voting patterns of most of its members, MALC is largely identified with Democrats, particularly for its impassioned stands on issues such as immigration and voting rights.
In 2017, Romero joined desk-mate Victoria Neave Criado, a fellow caucus member, in a hunger strike to denounce a looming House vote on Senate Bill 4. The bill, pushed by Abbott and other Republican leaders, sought to ban 鈥渟anctuary city鈥� policies that prohibited law enforcement from questioning detained people about their immigration background.
Neave Criado, a Dallas lawyer who left the House in January after an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate, said she often relied on Romero鈥檚 guidance in combating 鈥渁nti-Latino policymaking鈥� as they sat next to each other on the House floor. She was his predecessor as MALC chair, serving between 2022 and 2024.
鈥淩am贸n and I sat side by side for years so I鈥檝e been there on the front lines with him,鈥� she recalled. 鈥淗e had more experience there in the Legislature than I did, so I鈥檇 go to him for his advice or thoughts.鈥�
Neave Criado predicts that her former colleague is 鈥済oing to do great in his leadership role and has the skills, the respect of our colleagues 鈥� in these times where we need people to step up.鈥�
One of MALC鈥檚 Republican members offers high expectations for Romero鈥檚 chairmanship.
鈥淩am贸n Romero is a wonderful, whole-hearted member of the House, and he fights for his constituents as (if) it was fighting for his family,鈥� said Rep. J.M. Lozano of Kingsville, a former Democrat who switched to the GOP in 2012. Lozano, a House member since 2011, said he stopped attending caucus meetings after a MALC lawyer savaged his South Texas House district in a redistricting plan, but remains a member of the caucus.
Lozano said he expects Romero to help bridge differences in the caucus, adding that MALC members often respect each other鈥檚 position despite partisan divisions.
鈥淲e鈥檒l vote on different positions, then it鈥檚 like a Friday night football game,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he minute the game鈥檚 over, we鈥檙e all friends.鈥�
The path from Poly to politics
Romero grew up in southeast Fort Worth鈥檚 Polytechnic Heights as the sixth of eight children whose father was a butcher and mother was a homemaker. Times were hard, he recalls, but he pushed back by washing cars or 鈥渉awking golf balls鈥� at the . 鈥淚 was a small business owner my whole life,鈥� he says.
His businesses kept getting bigger. He got an irrigation license in high school to begin constructing irrigation systems, eventually expanding into swimming pool construction and a natural stone distribution company that evolved into multimillion-dollar enterprises. Romero thus became an established Fort Worth businessman known for signing paychecks on the front instead of the back.
Politics and public service came next. He served 11 years on Fort Worth planning and zoning commissions, made an unsuccessful bid for City Council, then set his sights on the 90th District House seat that Burnam, one of the leading liberal Democrats in the House, had occupied since 1997.
Burnam, then-dean of the Tarrant County House delegation, acknowledged to the Dallas Morning News that 鈥渞adically鈥� changing demographics in a poor and predominantly Latino district threatened his chances for reelection. Romero ultimately prevailed by 111 votes in the 2014 Democratic primary.
Romero, a grandfather of four who has lived in the same house in District 90 for three decades, said he has an inherent bond with his constituents. The eclectic district encompasses parts of north and south Fort Worth, including Poly, the Stockyards and parts of the Medical District. Its population continues to evolve and has included a growing number of immigrants from the north central-Mexican state of Zacatecas.
Of the district鈥檚 more than 203,000 residents, at least 131,000 鈥� nearly 65% 鈥� are Hispanic, according to a House profile of the district. The per-capita income is $27,000, compared to almost $40,000 statewide, and the poverty rate is just over 17%, compared to nearly 14% statewide.
Romero said he understands the struggles many of his constituents face in 鈥渘ot being able to put clothes on their children鈥檚 back or food on their plates.鈥� Despite his wealth, he said, 鈥淚鈥檓 a poor person at heart 鈥� I know what poverty feels like, and it doesn鈥檛 feel good.鈥�
Romero鈥檚 鈥渉ands-on鈥� approach to his constituents back home, including sponsoring an annual golf tournament and routinely sending staff to neighborhood association meetings, may help explain why the incumbent lawmaker hasn鈥檛 drawn a primary challenger throughout his decade in office. He defeated Republican challenger Elva Camacho with 72% of the vote in the 2020 general election.
鈥淲e see him around the neighborhoods frequently,鈥� said Mike Brennan, president of 鈥淗e鈥檚 close friends with a lot of the business owners in the district and with the community leaders who have been part of our work for a long time.鈥�
Launched nearly three decades ago to revitalize a decaying part of Fort Worth, Near Southside Inc. now encompasses more than 340 businesses and institutions, from startups to hospital anchors, that attract thousands of visitors to the area. Brennan said Romero has been 鈥渟trongly supportive鈥� since his days on the zoning commission.
鈥淎s a businessman, he understands the challenges faced particularly by startup businesses,鈥� Brennan said.
Attorney Jason Smith was recruited into active Democratic Party politics in the 1980s when Burnam represented the district. After his close friend Burnam was defeated, he initially worried that Romero was going to be a conservative Democrat, but said he became a strong supporter after watching Romero鈥檚 performance in office, particularly when he spoke out for struggling farm workers at a legislative hearing in Austin.
鈥淗e stood up for these folks, he really did,鈥� says Smith, who lives in the district and is one of Romero鈥檚 constituents. 鈥淩am贸n Romero turned out to be a lot better Democrat than I ever thought he鈥檇 be.鈥�
Feuds and friendships across the aisle
Romero鈥檚 strong positions have sometimes brought him to the center of bitter partisan tensions. The same 2017 session that prompted Neave Criado and Romero鈥檚 hunger strike ended in a near brawl on the House floor after then-Rep. Matt Rinaldi, a future state Republican chair, called who filled the House gallery to protest passage of Senate Bill 4.
Romero and several other Democratic House members said they approached Rinaldi in defense of the protesters, but the confrontation escalated after Rinaldi called the demonstrators 鈥溾�漟鈥攊ng illegals,鈥� Romero said. In recent interviews about the incident, Rinaldi said Romero assaulted him with a push during the altercation, an account that Romero denies. 鈥淚f I鈥檇 have assaulted him, he would have known it,鈥� Romero told the Report.
The hostilities have hardly softened years later. Rinaldi, an Irving attorney who led the Texas Republican Party from 2021 to 2024, calls Romero 鈥渁 far left Democrat鈥� and describes MALC as 鈥渃ompletely irrelevant.鈥� He adds: 鈥淎nd yeah, we did get into it at one point.鈥�
In turn, Romero, defending MALC as an essential organization that represents the needs of all members and not just Hispanics, said Rinaldi 鈥渂rought shame to the Legislature鈥� when he was in the House and serves as a 鈥渕outhpiece鈥� for 鈥渙utside billionaires鈥� in his private practice.
The ongoing tension with Rinaldi and his allies hasn鈥檛 kept Romero from building legislative alliances on both sides of the aisle.
鈥淩am贸n and I have worked well together,鈥� said Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, who served as a committee chair during the last session and is close to current Speaker Dustin Burrows. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a dear friend and he鈥檚 formidable 鈥� on the golf course and the House floor. He鈥檚 a hell of a golfer, and he鈥檚 a hell of a fighter for his constituents.鈥�
Rep. Tony Tinderholt, an outspoken Republican conservative from Arlington, said he has good relations with his Tarrant County Democratic colleague despite their partisan differences on issues such as abortion and immigration.
鈥淩omero鈥檚 a good friend of mine, and I trust him,鈥� said Tinderholt.
As members of the House Committee on Defense and Veterans Affairs, Tinderholt recalled, he worked with Romero to strengthen qualifications for the mental health director of the Texas Veterans Commission.
鈥淗e鈥檚 from the Democrat Party, and we鈥檙e just going to typically disagree on some policy, but I鈥檒l tell you what, I like working with Ram贸n on the things that we do agree on,鈥� Tinderholt added.
Charting a legislative agenda for Texas Latinos
Romero announced his bid for the MALC chairmanship in October 2024 after months of consideration, noting that the state鈥檚 Hispanic population had grown by more than 500% since the organization was founded in 1973, the year Romero was born.
As its numbers increased in subsequent decades, so did MALC鈥檚 power and accomplishments. MALC pushed legislation and legal action for Latinos on a multitude of fronts, including minimum wages for farm workers, equalizing public school finance, boosting funding for higher education in South Texas and legislative redistricting suits to broaden Latino representation in the Legislature and Congress.
A broader set of 21st century challenges await MALC under Romero鈥檚 leadership, including guaranteeing adequate power through the electric grid, fortifying infrastructure, improving banking and insurance access, and securing adequate water sources for decades to come. The laundry list also includes the priorities that have faced MALC for the past half-century, including protecting voting rights and combating the ravages of poverty.
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, a San Antonio Democrat who chaired MALC from 2009 to 2017, believes Romero is the right choice to forge that path.
鈥淪ince the inception of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus, we鈥檝e always benefited tremendously from leadership taking the caucus one step further than their predecessor,鈥� he said. 鈥淩am贸n is uniquely qualified. He has the acumen, he has the discipline, and he has the passion to be the voice of all Latinos in Texas.鈥�
Romero also underscored the challenges in declaring his intentions to seek the chairmanship, vowing to stay 鈥渓aser-focused on the issues central to MALC鈥檚 mission.鈥�
The fundamental objective, he said, is ensuring 鈥渢hat we are doing everything in our power to support and uplift the Latino community across the state of Texas.鈥�
The Fort Worth Report鈥檚 Texas Legislative coverage is supported by . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy .
Dave Montgomery is an Austin-based freelance reporter for the Fort Worth Report.
This first appeared on and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.