California’s attorney general said young people who came to the country illegally as children are “badass.”

“I suspect in the revolutionary days the founders were looking for people like them [Dreamers] to join their fight. They’re — I might get deleted here — badass. There are some politicians who need a little bit of a spine like they have,” Xavier Becerra said on Wednesday at a press conference in Washington D.C.

“Good thing I’m an optimist. I believe that DACA ‘dreamers’ are here to stay. I believe they’re going to be some of our greatest leaders,” he said, referring to Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals. Democrats refer to people brought to the country as minors and who have been granted a temporary reprieve from deportation as “Dreamers.”

A journalist covering Hispanic issues asked Becerra what the “Dreamers'” leverage was to extract demands. “The DACA kids have gotten so aggressive, shouting down [Minority Leader Nancy] Pelosi. It’s not a good image,” she said. “What leverage does DACA have to close down the government?”

“They used to shout at me, too. But you know what? That’s the American way. That’s what I love about them so much, is that they’re willing to get out there and say ‘I’m going to fight for this thing, even though at any moment I might be subject to apprehension, detention and deportation,'” he replied.

“The philosophy of the Democratic Party leaders should be, ‘If you work hard and play by the rules, we’ve got your back,'” the attorney general notes in the description of the press conference.

“Becerra doesn’t believe the Trump Administration has been following the rules, and since becoming attorney general, he’s been pushing back against the White House. California has filed roughly two dozen lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration’s efforts to make changes that affect immigrant rights, civil rights, environmental standards and consumer protections,” the description press conference reads.

Soon after, the California attorney general lauded his dad — a legal immigrant — for persevering without complaint.

“Even though this country wouldn’t let my dad walk into a restaurant because of the color of his skin, he never once complained because he knew if there would be a future if he worked really hard for his kids,” he said.

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