Immigration firebrand takes reins of the Hispanic Caucus

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.

Outgoing Chair Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-Calif.), who fought Democratic leadership last year over the group’s exclusion from the doomed Senate border deal, made her name on energy, environment and health care issues. Her predecessor, Rep. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) is an emergency room physician and rural health advocate; Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is most closely identified with foreign policy, intelligence and diversity and inclusion work; and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is best known for her work with elder care and land management.

But Espaillat’s fellow Democrats and CHC members have seen him go to the mattresses on immigration.

In 2021, he and Reps. Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) became known as the “three amigos” when they threatened to tank budget talks unless House Democrats included immigration provisions in a reconciliation bill that required no Republican buy-in.

The three amigos’ red line irked some Democrats and CHC members, including then-Chair Ruiz, who favored a more conciliatory approach to avoid highlighting a rift between progressives and centrists in the party.

At the time, the main ask was to include an update to the registry — a sort of statute of limitations for undocumented immigration — in the budget, a provision that could have allowed millions of immigrants lacking permanent legal status who don’t have criminal records to apply for permanent citizenship.

The Senate parliamentarian eventually blocked that move on a technicality, but Espaillat, García and Correa forced House Democrats to take an unprecedented risk on immigration.

“We got [then-Speaker Nancy] Pelosi [D-Calif.] to include it,” Espaillat said. “It was tough to get her there, but I think it took us to take a tough stand and to sort of like draw a line in the sand. ... You know, we were disappointed that the Senate was not able to carry through on that, but at least our leadership acknowledged it and included it, and so that was a step in the right direction.”

But Espaillat, the third foreign-born CHC chair after Ruiz and former Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-Texas), knows the CHC’s asks and tactics will have to adjust under the new Trump administration.

“I mean, registry is sort of like the simple fix, right? And it's one that will capture a significant number of people. I don't know if this administration will accept registry,” he said.

“I think that there's a possibility that they can accept some things, and I'm open to have a discussion with them on things that may be practical and achievable.”

The range of what’s practical and achievable, Espaillat said, could change over the next two years, as the Trump White House’s deportation proposals begin to hit home with individual communities.

“I think, by the way, that the narrative, the opinion of America, will change. I think it will change somewhat rapidly, because the minute a mom — any mom, a white mom, an African American mom, a middle-class mom, even a rich mom — the minute a mom hears a baby, hears a baby crying in the middle of the night, asking for their mother because they've been split up, right? I think that that's going to move America, as it did before,” he said.

Though Espaillat hopes to use his personal experience to keep the CHC at the forefront of immigration, he expects the group’s members to take the lead on other key topics.

“I think we have a lot of talent in the CHC on different issues, and I think that delegating duties to members on different issues, like, for example, farmworkers, you have Lou Correa, [Rep.] Salud Carbajal [D-Calif.], [Rep. Jim] Costa [D-Calif.], they're all leaders on farmworkers. [On] housing you have [Rep. Robert] Garcia [D-Calif.] … [Rep.] Gabe Vasquez [D-N.M.], you know, who brings in a different aspect of housing, because it's like more rural, right? You have [Rep.] Delia Ramirez [D-Ill.], who's very — on the [Smithsonian] Latino Museum, you have her and other people that have a keen interest on the Latino Museum.”

Beyond immigration, the Dominican-born Espaillat is looking to leverage both his personal experience 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 is Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and Panama and Ecuador, those four countries, somebody like [Rep.] Vicente Gonzalez [D-Texas] has great relationships in Mexico, Guatemala. We were both actually asked by the State Department to be at [Salvadoran President Nayib] Bukele’s swearing-in ceremony, and we went there. Joaquin [Castro] is an overall expert, and we got to take the lead from him, obviously, and see how we strengthen his position,” Espaillat said, also pointing to Guatemala-born Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) as a regional expert.

“But I just think that we could be more impactful when it comes to Latin American and Caribbean issues than we are right now.”

And the CHC’s focus on the Western Hemisphere could present an opportunity to work with the Trump administration, particularly with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Trump’s nominee to lead the State Department.

“Well, you know, even though we may differ on some views regarding Latin America and the Caribbean, yes, I think that presents an opportunity to — the Summit of the Americas will be held this year in the Dominican Republic, in December of this coming year, and that will be a great platform, forum to discuss some things, I think very strongly that the U.S., for a long time, has not had a major initiative in the Americas,” Espaillat said.

Espaillat, who opposes one-party systems “whether from the left or the right,” framed that renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere as part of a broader geopolitical goal.

“I mean, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Chinese President] Xi Jinping have said that, you know, democracy is weak and that their systems work better. And you know their systems — at least in Russia’s side it has led to a conflict in the Ukraine, and in China, there are also major obstacles and contradictions. So democracy, I think, still works. It requires a little bit more effort, but at the end of the day, you know, it's one that guarantees a greater number of seats at the table, and I think that's important and worthwhile fighting for,” he said.

Topics

Democratic doctors in the House condemn RFK Jr., plan new caucus

Politico - 1d
‘We need to be in the room’: DOGE Caucus Democrat works with GOP to slash spending

Rep. Val Hoyle (D-Ore.), a member of the new House caucus partnering with President-elect Trump’s announced Department of Government Efficiency, joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the bipartisan ...
NBC News - 1d
With Trump taking office, some Democrats and pro-immigration groups ponder new ideas

There's momentum among pro-immigration groups and some Democrats for policies that would move the party to the right on immigration.
NBC News - 1d
The Papers: 'Meta reins in fact-checking' and A&E 'flu crisis'

A change in moderation policy by the owner of Facebook and pressures on the NHS lead the papers.
BBC News - 1d
Freedom Caucus holds its fire on Johnson’s strategy for passing Trump agenda

Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus are holding their fire despite Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) bucking their preferred strategy for passing President-elect Trump’s agenda, arguing ...
The Hill - 1d
NASA studies options to rein in cost of Mars Sample Return mission

NASA hopes a revised plan will get Mars samples back to Earth faster and cost less than the agency's original plan.
CBS News - 2d
Jean-Marie Le Pen, Far-Right French Firebrand Politician, Dies at 96

He co-founded what became France’s biggest opposition party, National Rally, rooted in deep anti-immigrant sentiment.
The Wall Street Journal - 2d
Takano to take helm of Congressional Equality Caucus

Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) will take the reins of the Congressional Equality Caucus, a coalition of House Democrats supportive of LGBTQ rights, in the 119th Congress, the group announced Friday. ...
The Hill - 6d
Israel's judiciary reins in far-right police minister

Yahoo News - Jan. 2