Social & Economic Justice

Delivering on Justice, Diversity and Solidarity

"My father is an immigrant from Venezuela and my mother was a teacher and counselor for over 30 years; they taught me the importance of social justice, continuing education, and ensuring that everyone has a path to achieve the American Dream. The Virginia I know and love has been a welcoming place for people from all walks of life and from all parts of the world and I believe that, working together, we can build a Commonwealth that builds everyone up and leaves no one behind."

 

 As Delegate, Alfonso has successfully fought for:

 

Racial Justice

  • Passed legislation abolishing the death penalty, which disproportionally affects African Americans.

  • Passed legislation legalizing cannabis for adult use, expunging records, and ending mandatory minimums.

LGBTQ+ Rights

  • Passed legislation creating an LGBTQ+ advisory board to make sure the LGBTQ+ community has a say in policy and outreach in the state of Virginia.

  • Passed an amendment repealing Virginia’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, something that was long overdue in making sure Virginia is a state where all love is welcome. 

Right to Choose

  • Voted against the prohibition of funds for abortion in the state in 2012.

  • Co-Patroned and helped pass the Reproductive Health Protection Act in 2020, which helped roll back restrictive and politically motivated measures on access to abortion and reproductive health in Virginia.

Immigrant Rights

  • Passed legislation such as the De-ICE bill.

  • Worked with Attorney General Mark Herring to expand access to in-state tuition for DREAMer students in Virginia.

  • Expanded emergency medicaid to cover persons regardless of immigration status for COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccinations.

  • Negotiated across party lines to pass legislation cracking down on Notario Fraud in Virginia.

Voting Rights

  • Passed the Voting Rights Act, which ballot dropboxes permanent, allows optional Sunday voting, makes curbside voting easier, and more.

  • Passed legislation allowing 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote to increase the likelihood that voting becomes a habit for life for our younger generation.

  • Worked with Governor McAuliffe to restore the right to vote for convicted felons who served their time and paid their debt to society.

COVID-19 Relief

  • Passed legislation to require businesses to provide paid COVID leave for quarantine.

  • Protected the credit of tenants impacted by COVID and expanded the Affordable Housing Trust Fund - which he founded - to provide rental relief and prevent evictions.

  • Helped expand Medicaid coverage to over 500 thousand Virginia families.

  • Passed legislation providing COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccinations for low-income and undocumented individuals.

Affordable Housing

  • Passed legislation creating the Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which has already invested over $1.4 million on affordable housing projects in the 49th district.

  • Fought to pass legislation strengthening protections for tenants against retaliatory evictions and from bearing the costs of mitigating pest infestations when the cause of the infestation was undetermined.

Labor Reforms

  • Worked with the labor community to remove language added to the State Budget prohibiting the use of Project Labor Agreements on interstate transportation projects.

  • Organized legislators in Northern Virginia to successfully push the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) to increase the minimum wage for contract employees at our local airports.

  • Was one of the first politicians to reject Amazon money and stand against Amazon’s HQ2 because of Amazon’s practice of taking advantage of their employees and fighting unionization efforts.

Survivors of Child Abuse

  • Led the fight to save funding for Child Advocacy Centers, which address the needs of child abuse survivors across Virginia.

 

Alfonso will continue pushing to: 

 

  • Expand employment and housing protections for members of the LGBTQ communities.

  • Always stand against corporations like Amazon that take advantage of their employees and fight efforts to unionize. Alfonso is a fervent supporter of organized labor. 

  • Codify employment non-discrimination and allow local governments to have non-discrimination policies for their employees. 

  • Implement comprehensive immigration reform policies in Virginia.

  • Defend the civil rights of all Virginians. 

  • Defend a woman’s right to choose.