Latino Democrats Fight to Fend Off Upstart Challengers

Representative Adriano Espaillat of New York brandished a court order outside an immigration detention facility in Manhattan last month, demanding to check on the migrants’ living conditions.

As he prepared to enter, Mr. Espaillat ran through the ways that fellow Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus had tried to support undocumented immigrants — whether by backing legislation or by putting themselves in harm’s way.

“We’ve been teaching the Democratic caucus how to fight this,” he said.

Mr. Espaillat is one of four Latino House Democrats trying to fight off primary challenges from younger opponents and from the left — including some from fellow Latinos — at a time when they say they are leading the charge in combating President Trump’s deportation push and the tactics of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One of those Democrats, Representative Sylvia Garcia of Texas, is facing a competitive primary on Tuesday.



https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/us/politics/latino-democrats-primary-elections.html