HECHO EN AMERICA 9

Congress has lawmakers for whom the immigrant experience is a personal one: At least 64 of the current 529 voting members of Congress are immigrants or the children of immigrants.

There are 12 foreign-born members of the 115th Congress – 11 representatives and one senator. At least 52 other members were born in the United States or its territories, to at least one immigrant parent. Including 37 in the House and 15 in the Senate.

Mr. Adriano de Jesús Espaillat Rodríguez is an Afro-Latino, Dominican-American politician who has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 13th congressional district since 2017.

He is the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress. He is also the Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Rep. Espaillat pushing to join Congressional Black Caucus, Feb 15, 2022 -Axios Events  by Fadel Allassan.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) told Axios that he "will continue to knock on the door" of the Congressional Black Caucus, which has previously denied his membership into the organization.

Why it matters: The caucus has historically been limited to Black membership. Espaillat, who in 2016 became the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant elected to Congress, identifies as Black and Latino, and has previously described himself as a "Latino of African descent."

What he's saying: "I am persistent and I will continue to knock on the door because I don't think someone else has the right to define my Blackness or to determine whether I am a Black man or not," Espaillat said at an Axios event on the Afro-Latino experience.

Read: https://www.axios.com/2022/02/15/adriano-espaillat-black-caucus

U.S. Politicians of Afro-Latin Heritage Who Are Breaking Barriers

By Essence · Updated October 13, 2022

These elected officials with Latin American roots, are making sure their communities are represented politically. Here’s what to know about Grace Diaz, Ritchie Torres, Candace Valenzuela, Adriano Espaillat, Kristine Reeves, Antonio Delgado, Julia Mejia and Maxwell Alejandro Frost.

Watch: https://www.essence.com/news/watch-u-s-politicians-of-afro-latin-heritage-who-are-breaking-barriers/ 

Celebrate being Latino in the U.S.A. https://www.thevisualboutique.com/category/all-products

Citation:

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/21/immigrants-or-children-of-immigrants-make-up-at-least-12-of-congress/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adriano_Espaillat

https://www.essence.com/news/watch-u-s-politicians-of-afro-latin-heritage-who-are-breaking-barriers/

https://www.axios.com/2022/02/15/adriano-espaillat-black-caucus