The leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus rotates every two years. The previous leader in the 118th Congress was Rep. Nanette Barragan from CA-44. The leader this time was elected without opposition and is none other than Rep. Adriano Espaillat from NY-13!
Latino Democrats, under new management for the 119th Congress, are looking to flex their muscle under a razor-thin Republican House majority 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 says is ready to engage on a host of policy issues but determined to play a central role on immigration.
“We’re not just about immigration, but immigration is an emblematic issue that’s joined at the hip to the Latino Caucus. So no matter how much someone tries to say that we’re not connected there, we are. Because nationally it’s seen that way, and because the vast majority of people that are impacted by immigration issues are Hispanic or Latino descent,” Espaillat told The Hill.
“So whatever proposal the administration brings forward, I think we will be a key element in the response to that, whether it is educating our community to make sure that they know their rights, providing funding for legal services, combating any practices that may be seen [as] or that are inhumane, creating the ambience and the atmosphere where there could be some agreement, and some things that benefit immigrants, like, for example, Dreamers or even farmworkers or family reunification or TPS [Temporary Protected Status] recipients,” he added.
Though CHC chairs all deal intimately with immigration, the group has rarely been led by a member as close to the issue as Espaillat.
Espaillat has a lot of work to do in promoting the Democratic Party amongst its Latino constituents — especially Latino men. The erosion in Latino support definitely was a factor in costing MVP Kamala Harris the election in 2024.
But perhaps one of the biggest focuses for the party going forward will be on The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) which is dedicated to voicing and advancing, through the legislative process, issues affecting Latinos in the United States. For starters, the CHC is set to change leadership as Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) is running unopposed to succeed outgoing CHC Chair Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), positioning him to lead the caucus
Espaillat, a Dominican-born Afro-Latino, has advocated for immigrant rights and has often pushed for stronger pro-immigrant policies within the Democratic Party, as The Hill reports. As the next chair, he will likely focus on building a stronger economic message and responding to Latino voters' concerns, particularly around the rising cost of living—a central issue in the last election.
However, the upcoming period for the caucus will be defined by much more than its leadership. Espaillat and other CHC members agree that moving forward, the caucus must improve its messaging, especially to Hispanic men, a demographic with which vice-president Harris struggled with during the entire campaign, leading to a 10-point Trump lead among them in the final tally.
But who is the new leader of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? What are his priorities? What legislation has he sponsored or co-sponsored? Join me in learning about Rep. Adriano Espaillat below the fold!
Personal History
Rep. Espaillat was in the State Assembly and State Senate before joining Congress.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat was born on September 27, 1954 in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. That gives him the distinction of being the first Dominican-American in Congress.
His parents overstayed their tourist visa in the 1960s, making Espaillat an undocumented immigrant for a time. When elected to Congress, he was the first undocumented immigrant ever elected. His family eventually became green card holders and legal immigrants to the United States.
Espaillat and his parents first moved to New York City from the Dominican Republic in 1964, when he was nine or 10 years old (he himself is unclear on the exact date). They came for better jobs and to reunite the family – Espaillat’s maternal grandparents already lived in Washington Heights. His grandmother was a member of the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union in her job at Bobbie Brooks in the garment district. His grandfather made less and traveled farther, to a job at the Ray-Ban factory in Flushing. But that job had other benefits. Adriano was the only kid on the block to have the flip-up sunglasses like the baseball players wore.
Espaillat and his parents came to the country on a tourist visa, then overstayed it. They lived illegally in the country for a little less than a year before he and his parents acquired green cards. Espaillat says the process was easier back then. His parents got an affidavit from an employer, medical tests, a police background check and proof of savings in their bank account. Then came the hard part: entering a war zone.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat lived in the Washington Heights neighborhood on Manhattan and then graduated from Bishop Dubois High School in 1974. He went on to graduate from CUNY-Queens College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. While he was in college, he joined the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity. He was allowed to join because of his Afro-Latino roots in the Dominican Republic.
After college, Espaillat served as the Manhattan Court Services Coordinator for the New York Criminal Justice Agency. He later worked as director of the Washington Heights Victims Services Community Office. From 1994 to 1996, Espaillat served as the director of Project Right Start.
Espaillat and Reps. Chuy Garcia and Lou Correa really stand out here by sharing their pasts in their new podcast “Tu Caucus”/ This is Episode 1. It is the beginning of the podcast, while them explaining some issue positions are at the end.
Eventually, Espaillat was elected to the New York State Assmebly from 1997 to 2010. While there, he chaired the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus for a time. He was on the committees that dealt with small businesses and also children and families. Espaillat further went on to get elected to the New York State Senate from 2010-2016. While there, he was on the following committees:
- Housing, Construction & Community Development (Ranking Member)
- Environmental Conservation
- Higher Education
- Codes
- Rules
- Judiciary
- Finance
- Insurance
Espaillat is not universally beloved by his constituents in NY-13. Many were rubbed the wrong way when he challenged the legendary Rep. Charlie Rangel twice in the Democratic primary in 2012 and 2014. Both contests were close with Rangel narrowly prevailing. When Rep. Rangel retired in 2016, Espaillat faced close competition from State Rep. Keith L.T. Wright, a Black representative. Espaillat narrowly defeated him in the primary, which is tantamount to election in a deep blue constituency.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat wanted to join the Congressional Black Caucus in addition to the CHC when he was first elected to Congress. He never joined the group, and it is suspected that bad blood from his attempts to primary Rep. Charlie Rangel is the root source of him not joining.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat wants to join the Congressional Black Caucus. The question for the group’s members is whether he qualifies as African-American.
So far, the answer is no.
Espaillat, who in November became the first Dominican-American elected to Congress, identifies himself as a “Latino of African descent.” The CBC has a long-standing policy of limiting its caucus to African-American members, denying membership to white lawmakers in the past who have tried to join, even if they represent majority-minority districts.
Despite this early friction, when it comes to passing legislation and prioritizing issues that matter to both his Latino and Black constituents, Espaillat delivers.
Issue Positions and Work in Congress
Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and largely is in line with its views.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat is one of the more progressive members of the House of Representatives. His DW Nominate score is -0.536, which puts him to the left of 90% of the Democrats and 95% of the entire House of Representatives. On the Progressive Punch scorecard, he rates an A with a 98% lifetime progressive score. On issue after issue, he rates highly on liberal scorecards and low on fascist ones.
When in the New York State Assembly and New York State Senate, Espaillat focused on many issues. In the Assembly, Espaillat was a vocal advocate for tenants, consumers, veterans, immigrants and local businesses. He passed laws encouraging the construction and preservation of affordable housing, giving low-income day care workers the right to organize and obtain health care, and sponsored measures to improve hospital translation services. His signature push for legislation came in 2007 when he tried to pass a law that would allow undocumented immigrants to get drivers licenses. Espaillat also passed legislation protecting livery cab drivers and went after Con Edison after they charged his constituents during a blackout as if the power was on.
Since he came to Congress in 2017, Rep. Adriano Espaillat has been the primary sponsor of 3 pieces of legislation that have become law. In the 119th Congress, Espaillat has sponsored 7 pieces of legislation or resolutions and co-sponsored 73 pieces of legislation or resolutions. Most have been merely introduced or referred to a committee for study.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat is on the House Appropriations Committee and is the ranking member of the Subcommittee of the Legislative Branch. He has also been on the House Budget Committee in the past.
Espaillat has made many speeches about DACA recipients and protecting them. His impassioned plea for continued protections fell on deaf ears back in early February.
On February 28th, Espaillat was featured as a part of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ weekly press conference.
Here, Espaillat talks to Rev. Al Sharpton about the Spanish response to the Musk/Trump regimes joint address to Congress back about a month ago.
New York Rep. Adriano Espaillat delivered the Democrats' Spanish-language rebuttal to President Trump's joint address to Congress Tuesday night, with a significant focus on the president's immigration policy. In particular, Espaillat noted a recent executive order making English the national language and efforts to limit emergency aid.
"My people, although we have been here for 20 generations, 20 years or 20 days, we all came to the United States of America for the American dream — the possibility to achieve a better life and create a better future for our children by working hard, embracing diversity and taking the opportunity this great nation gives us all," Espaillat said in Spanish.
Espaillat accused Trump of creating an "environment of fear among the immigrant community" and voiced his opposition to tariffs, proposed tax cuts and the recent reduction of the federal workforce. But he often refocused his speech to immigration.
Here, he is being interviewed along with the chair of the CBC and the chair of the CAPAC about priority issues and the future of the Democratic Party.
There are many more clips and speeches to share than I have room!
Congressional Chronicle: Week of April 7, 2025
The latest on Capitol Hill when it comes to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
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Monday, April 7
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Elbridge Colby for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. Cloture was invoked (53/39/8) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Lujan, and Padilla voting NAY. Sen. Gallego did not vote.
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Tuesday, April 8
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The House voted for the resolution approving the rules package for the votes this week. H. Res 294 passed (213/211/9) with the entire CHC voting NAY on the rules package.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Elbridge Colby for Under Secretary of Defense for Policy. He was confirmed (54/45/1) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on George Glass for Ambassador to Japan. Cloture was invoked (67/32/1) with Sen. Gallego voting AYE and Sens. Cortez Masto, Lujan, and Padilla voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of George Glass for Ambassador of Japan. He was confirmed (66/32/2) with Sen. Gallego voting AYE and Sens. Cortez Masto, Lujan, and Padilla voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Mike Huckabee for Ambassador to Israel. Cloture was invoked (53/46/1) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Pete Hoekstra for Ambassador to Canada. Cloture was invoked (60/37/3) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Ronald Johnson for Ambassador to Mexico. Cloture was invoked (52/44/4) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Kevin Cabrera for Ambassador to Panama. Cloture was invoked (51/42/7) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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Wednesday, April 9
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The House voted for the resolution to bar the House from debating any resolutions on the tariff emergency. H. Res. 313 passed (216/215/2) with the entire CHC voting NAY.
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The House voted for the resolution to disapprove of the rule the CFPB made about digital payments. S.J. Res 28 passed (219/211/3) with the entire CHC voting NAY except Rep. Barragan who did not vote.
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The House voted for the resolution to disapprove of the rules the CFPB made about overdraft fees. S.J. Res 18 passed (217/211/5) with the entire CHC voting NAY except Rep. Barragan who did not vote.
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The Senate voted to invoke cloture on Paul Atkins to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Cloture was invoked (51/45/4) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Mike Huckabee for Ambassador to Israel. He was confirmed (53/46/1) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Pete Hoekstra for Ambassador to Canada. He was confirmed (60/37/3) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Ronald Johnson for Ambassador to Mexico. He was confirmed (49/46/5) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Kevin Cabrera for Ambassador to Panama. He was confirmed (51/45/4) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Paul Atkins to be a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was confirmed (52/44/4) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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The Senate voted to proceed on the resolution to disapprove of standards for hot water heaters. The motion to proceed on H.J. Res 20 was approved (52/42/6) with Sens. Cortez Masto, Gallego, Lujan, and Padilla all voting NAY.
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Thursday, April 10
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The CHC Roundup is a weekly series that is published every Saturday at 8AM EDT. The CHC represents the most critical swing demographic group in the nation. For daily updates, check out my CHC comments in the Abbreviated Pundit Roundup.
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