As a strong Puerto Rican woman, Rep. Nydia Velázquez is very adept at triggering the far-right fascists that are currently in control of this country. She came under fire recently for her comments about the most infamous white immigrant in control of this nation — Elon Musk.
Democratic Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez (NY) is under fire for telling billionaire Elon Musk to “go back to South Africa” during a fiery public appearance outside the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Her comments, which questioned why Musk was in the United States, have ignited a political storm, with conservatives accusing Democrats of embracing “nativism.”
"It was interesting yesterday—I was watching a video of an interview of Elon Musk where he said the Italians should stay in Italy and the Chinese should stay in China. My question to Elon Musk is—what the hell are you doing here in America?" Velázquez said on Monday evening.
The unhinged criticism of this Puerto Rican titan is nothing new as this 1992 New York Times article shows. She was even labeled "an Eva Peronesque caricature of Banana Republic politics." by one mailer!
"There are people out there who don't like me, and that's because I speak out the way I feel," Ms. Velazquez said in a recent interview. "They don't like me because I didn't go to the boy's club and ask for their permission to run for office."
Shaped by the Island, Not by the Barrio
Ms. Velazquez, a slim, intense 39-year-old who speaks rapid-fire, accented English, has proved to be a lightning rod for tensions that are redefining Puerto Rican politics in New York City. She is an aggressive woman in a macho political world, operating outside any political machine. She was born and raised on the island and not shaped by the urban edge and political culture of the barrio. And she became a public figure in New York City as a cabinet-level representative of the Governor of Puerto Rico, linking her name and identity first and foremost with the island's partisan politics.
"What we have here is gasoline mixed with fire," said Angelo Falcon, president of the Institute for Puerto Rican Policy. "You're seeing the politics of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. mixed up with the politics of Puerto Rico, then all that mixed up with the tension between those born here and those born there. And Nydia is right in the middle, pushing a lot of buttons."
She is the dean of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, having served in Congress since her initial 1993 election. But who is the revered elder of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus? What are her priorities? What legislation has she sponsored or co-sponsored? Join me in learning about Rep. Nydia Velázquez below the fold!
Personal History
Rep. Nydia Velázquez has never forgotten her roots in the colony of Puerto Rico.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez was born on March 28, 1953 in Limones, which is a village in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. She is the first Puerto Rican woman to get elected to Congress.
Her early life consisted of living in a modest home with her seven brothers and sisters and a voracious appetite for learning. But most importantly, she was given a strong political education about the status of the Puerto Rican colony.
In a small wooden house on the banks of the Rio Limon, flanked by verdant fields of sugar cane swaying in the warm breeze, Nydia M. Velazquez learned about politics.
The talk at the dinner table for the family of 10, Ms. Velazquez recalled, was always about the status of their island commonwealth and who controlled it, or about the rights of workers and how to organize. Her father, Don Benito Velazquez, a poor sugar-cane cutter with a third-grade education but a penchant for learning, was so passionate about the issues that he used to jump on the back of flatbed trucks to deliver speeches. Eventually, he founded a political party in their hometown.
She eventually became the first person in her family to graduate from high school and go to college. She attended the University of Puerto Rico — Rio Piedras but was destined for greater things in life.
In 1972 she graduated with honors from the Rio Piedras campus with a degree in political science and began teaching. She was still living at home with her parents in 1974, when she told her father she had won a scholarship to pursue a master's degree at New York University. 'We Have to Let Her Go'
"I said no, I could not let her go," he said. "Caramba! None of of us had ever left here to go so far away."
Then two of his daughter's professors came to visit. Mr. Velazquez recalled: "They told me, 'Don Benito, we know you are very protective of your daughter, but you have to let her go.' There is no other alternative here but that she go to New York to complete her work.'
"And so I went to my wife and I told her, 'There is no other choice -- we have to let her go.' “
After college, she was a professor of political science at the University of Puerto Rico — Humacao and then a professor of Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York City. This dichotomy of time between New York and Puerto Rico has continued for the entirety of Rep. Nydia Velazquez’s life.
Eventually, she entered the cutthroat world of New York City politics. She was the first Latina on the New York City Council in addition to being the first Puerto Rican woman elected to Congress.
After working as a special assistant to Representative Edolphus Towns of Brooklyn, she was named in 1984 to fill a vacant seat on the City Council, becoming its first Hispanic woman. In 1986, after losing her Council seat to a challenger, she was appointed by the Puerto Rican Governor to head what is now called the Department of Puerto Rican Community Affairs in the United States.
In this role, her knack for coalition building came to the fore and propelled her to her emphatic win in the 1992 Democratic primary for what was then New York’s 12th congressional district.
Though officially nonpartisan in her role as the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico's representative in New York, Ms. Velazquez solidified her reputation that night as a street-smart and politically savvy woman who understood the value of solidarity and loyalty to other politicians, community leaders and organized labor.
Velázquez also pioneered Atrévete Con Tu Voto, a program that aims to politically empower Latinos in the United States through voter registration and other projects. The Atrévete project spread from New York across the country and was one of the first efforts to encourage mass political participation in American politics.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez has been an activist almost her entire adult life. She started out as an independentista in Puerto Rico especially during her college years. She has since advocated for Puerto Rican self-determination at every opportunity — including by endorsing La Allianza in the 2024 Puerto Rican election. Her most famous bit of activism surrounded Vieques — a small island used by the US Navy as a bombing range. Her efforts were successful in stopping the bombings though MANY problems remain on the small island in the aftermath.
Forty-six years after Lolita Lebrón and fellow Puerto Rican nationalists shot up the House of Representatives, wounding five members in a desperate act of defiance, Lebrón, along with Puerto Rican members of Congress Luis Gutiérrez and Nydia Velázquez, were arrested for an act of nonviolent resistance against the federal government. On May 4, 300 US Marshals and FBI agents cleared about 200 demonstrators from a Navy bombing range on the embattled island of Vieques. “Puerto Rico has been invaded again,” said New York City Councilman José Rivera as he was led away. For Puerto Ricans on the island and the mainland, this was just another display of nineteenth-century gunboat diplomacy.
Life in politics hasn’t always been rosy for Rep. Nydia Velázquez. In 1991, she was hospitalized for a suicide attempt which became one of the many scurrilous attacks before her initial primary win.
In an unusually public discussion of a personal problem, Nydia Velazquez held a news conference yesterday to describe how an accumulation of personal problems sent her into a deep depression that drove her to attempt suicide last year.
Surrounded by her sister, nieces, friends and political supporters at her campaign headquarters in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the Democratic candidate in the 12th Congressional District also said that she had asked the Manhattan District Attorney and the State Attorney General to investigate the release of her hospital records detailing the suicide attempt.
Facsimile copies of the records were sent anonymously to several press organizations in New York City, and the suicide attempt -- in which she swallowed 21 sleeping pills and washed them down with vodka -- was first reported on Thursday in The New York Post.
"In 1991, in a troublesome period of my life, I attempted to commit suicide," she said, her voice strong and direct, obviously working very hard to control it. "It was a sad and painful experience for me, and one I thought was now in the past." The problems, she said, included her mother's illness and her brother's drug addiction.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez has always been a fighter — “la luchadora” is a nickname for her — and she has shown that in Congress time and time again.
Issue Positions and Work in Congress
Rep. Nydia Velazquez giving an anti-Musk speech at the US Capitol building in early 2025.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez is one of the more progressive members of the House of Representatives. Her DW Nominate score is -0.546, which puts her to the left of 92% of the Democrats and 92% of the entire membership of the House. Progressive Punch also rates her highly with a 97% lifetime and an A rating. She rates highly on every progressive scorecard and very low on the fascist ones.
Velázquez has had an extremely long career in the House and has sponsored or co-sponsored plenty of legislation. She has been the primary sponsor of 11 pieces of legislation that have become law. In the 119th Congress, Velazquez has sponsored 9 pieces of legislation or resolutions and has co-sponsored 140 other pieces of legislation or resolutions.
Naturally, much of her proposed legislation involves either Puerto Rico or small businesses. One example from 2021 is the Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act. Unfortunately, the bill went nowhere in the Senate and the status of the colony is perpetually up for debate. Another resolution in 2023 as reported by our Denise Oliver-Velez would have called for the end of the Monroe Doctrine that poisons relations between Latin America and the USA.
However, by no means is Puerto Rico the only issue that gets her attention. One piece of legislation she has introduced this Congress is Mel’s Law — which would posthumously award degrees to those who pass away. She also introduced the Landlord Accountability Act of 2025 to crack down on crooked landlords.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez is the ranking member of the Committee on Small Business. She also is a member of both the Financial Services Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources. If the Democrats retake the House in 2026, she is in line to be one of the most powerful members of the CHC once more.
Despite her being 71 years old, Rep. Nydia Velázquez still is a strong and passionate public speaker.
Here is a press conference about the need for aid after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico.
She was a HARSH critic of how President Trump 1.0 handled the crisis as this clip shows.
That criticism continues to the present day with a blistering attack on Trump around 5 months ago after the “floating island of garbage” comment.
Rep. Nydia Velázquez was also forceful when it comes to returning Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
I could’ve included about 10-20 more clips from the last 15 years but suffice to say that Rep. Nydia Velázquez is still the same la luchadora she was when she was first elected in 1992.
Congressional Chronicle: Week of April 14, 2025
The latest on Capitol Hill when it comes to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
Congress is adjourned (except for pro forma sessions) for the week of April 14 and the week of April 21. That means that the CHC is busy holding town halls in their districts and attending to other district matters.
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April 14
April 15
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📣It's not too late to sign up for my Zoom town hall today at 1:30 PT!
We’re breaking down the latest actions by the Trump administration—and how I’m pushing back in Congress to protect our communities. 💪🏽
Submit your questions on the RSVP form here ➡️ bit.ly/repgomeztownhall
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— Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@gomez.house.gov) April 15, 2025 at 11:58 AM
April 16
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I’m hosting three town halls across our region! I’ll be sharing what I’ve been working on in Congress, answering your questions, and listening to what matters to you.
🔗 Space is limited, please secure your spot by visiting ruiz.house.gov/townhall.
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— Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD (@repraulruizmd.bsky.social) April 11, 2025 at 5:11 PM
April 17
Upcoming Town Halls
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I'm hosting a town hall in Santa Fe on April 22 – please register to join us in-person!
I'll be taking questions from folks, sharing an update on my work in Washington, and my staff will be on-site to assist with casework if you're experiencing issues with a federal agency.
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— Senator Ben Ray Luján (@lujan.senate.gov) April 17, 2025 at 5:12 PM
