Latino Democrats, under up-to-date leadership for the 119th Congress, are looking to flex their muscles under a razor-thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives that could make or break President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda.
Last week, Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), known for his immigration advocacy, took the reins of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), a group he said is willing to engage on a variety of policy issues but also determined to to participate plays a central role in immigration.
“We are not just about immigration, but immigration is an iconic issue that is closely tied to the Latino Caucus. No matter how hard anyone tries to say we’re not connected, we are. Because that’s how it’s seen across the country and because the vast majority of people affected by immigration issues are of Hispanic or Latino descent,” Espaillat told The Hill.
“Whatever the administration proposes, I think we will be a key part of responding to it, whether it is educating our community to make sure they know their rights, providing funding for legal services or combating any practices.” seen [as] or that are inhumane, creating an ambience and an atmosphere where there could be some agreement and some things that benefit immigrants, such as Dreamers or even farm workers or family reunification or TPS [Temporary Protected Status] receiver,” he added.
Although all CHC chairs are deeply concerned with immigration, the group has rarely been led by a member as close to the issue as Espaillat.
Outgoing leader Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), who battled Democratic leadership last year over the group’s exclusion from the Senate’s doomed border deal, made her mark on energy, environmental and health issues. Her predecessor, Representative Raul Ruiz (Democrat of California), is an emergency physician and rural health advocate; Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is most closely associated with foreign policy, intelligence, and diversity and inclusion work; and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), is best known for her work in elder care and land management.
But Espaillat’s fellow Democrats and CHC members have seen him come under scrutiny over immigration.
In 2021, he and Representatives Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Illinois) and Lou Correa (D-California) became known as the “Three Amigos” when they threatened to thwart budget negotiations if House Democrats failed to do so Immigration provisions would be included in a reconciliation bill that did not require Republican approval.
The Three Amigos The red line angered some Democrats and CHC membersincluding then-Chairman Ruiz, who favored a more conciliatory approach so as not to highlight a divide between progressives and centrists in the party.
The main demand at the time was to include in the budget an update to the registry – a kind of statute of limitations for undocumented immigration – a provision that could have allowed millions of undocumented immigrants who have no criminal records to apply for lasting citizenship.
The Senate parliamentarian ultimately blocked the move on a technicality, but Espaillat, García and Correa forced House Democrats to take an unprecedented risk on immigration.
“We have [then-Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] to record it,” Espaillat said. “It was demanding to get them there, but I think we had to take a tough stance and draw a line in the sand, so to speak. … You know, we were disappointed that the Senate couldn’t pass it, but our leadership at least acknowledged it and included it, and that was a step in the right direction.”
But Espaillat, the third foreign-born CHC leader after Ruiz and former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), knows that the CHC’s demands and tactics will need to adjust under the up-to-date Trump administration.
“I mean, registration is kind of an easy fix, right? And it’s one that will captivate a significant number of people. I don’t know if this administration will accept registration,” he said.
“I think there’s a possibility that they can accept some things, and I’m open to a discussion with them about things that might be practical and achievable.”
The scope of what is practical and achievable could change over the next two years, Espaillat said, as the Trump White House’s deportation proposals gain traction with individual communities.
“By the way, I think the narrative, the opinion of America, is going to change. I think that’s going to change pretty quickly because the moment a mother – any mother, a white mother, an African American mother, a middle class mother, even a rich mother – the moment a mother Hearing a baby, she hears a baby crying asking for her mother in the middle of the night because they’re separated, right? I think this will move America like it did before,” he said.
Although Espaillat hopes to apply his personal experience to keep the CHC at the forefront of immigration issues, he expects the group’s members to provide leadership on other key issues as well.
“I think we have a lot of talent in the CHC on different topics, and I think that there is Lou Correa who delegates tasks to members on different topics, such as farm workers. [Rep.] Health Carbajal [D-Calif.], [Rep. Jim] Costa [D-Calif.]They are all leaders of the farm workers. [On] Living space you have [Rep. Robert] Garcia [D-Calif.] … [Rep.] Gabe Vasquez [D-N.M.]you know, who brings a different aspect of housing because it’s more rural, right? You have [Rep.] Delia Ramirez [D-Ill.]who is very — on the [Smithsonian] “Latino Museum, you and other people who have a great interest in the Latino Museum.”
Beyond immigration, Dominican Republic-born Espaillat wants to apply both his personal experiences and the group’s collective record to raise the CHC’s profile in foreign policy, particularly as it relates to Latin America and the Caribbean.
“I’m aware of the Democratic Alliance, which includes the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama and Ecuador, those four countries, someone like that [Rep.] Vicente González [D-Texas] has great relationships in Mexico, Guatemala. We were both actually asked to be there by the State Department [Salvadoran President Nayib] Bukele’s swearing-in ceremony and we went there. Joaquin [Castro] is an overall expert, and of course we can take leadership from him and see how we strengthen his position,” Espaillat said, also pointing to Guatemalan-born Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) as a regional expert.
“But I just think we could be more effective than we are now on Latin American and Caribbean issues.”
And the CHC’s focus on the Western Hemisphere could present an opportunity to work with the Trump administration, particularly Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida), Trump’s nominee to lead the State Department.
“Well, you know, even though we may differ on some views on Latin America and the Caribbean, I think this represents an opportunity – the Summit of the Americas will be held in the Dominican Republic this December this year “If we “Coming next year, and this will be a great platform, a forum to discuss some things, I firmly believe that the United States has not undertaken a major initiative in the Americas for a long time,” Espaillat said.
Espaillat, who rejects one-party systems “whether from the left or the right,” called this renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere part of a broader geopolitical goal.
“I mean, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping has said that democracy is weak and that its systems work better. And you know their systems – at least on the Russian side, it led to a conflict in Ukraine, and there are also major obstacles and contradictions in China. So I think democracy still works. It takes a little more effort, but at the end of the day it guarantees a larger number of seats at the table, and I think that’s important and worth fighting for,” he said.
