Hispanic Caucus Chair Brags 'I Fight ICE Every Day And Have Been Doing It For Years'

During an appearance on CBSs The Takeout, Espaillat framed his opposition to immigration enforcement as deeply personal, recounting his own history of overstaying a visa before eventually obtaining legal status and entering public office, according to Breitbart.

ICE is a very personal issue to me. I came from the Dominican Republic as a young boy on a visitors visa, overstayed a visa, found myself with no papers, had to go back and get my green card, and then come back with a green card, become a U.S. citizen, a voter, and now Im a member of Congress, what an American story. And so, this is very personal to me. I fight ICE every day, not just when its popular, not just when they conduct a raid. Ive been fighting them since they were the Migra.

June 19, 2026

Espaillat went on to highlight his record of litigation and political confrontation against federal enforcement agencies and even private companies. And so, I know this very well. I took Trump to court and won. Now were able to inspect detention centers, exercise our oversight duties as members of Congress. I sued the IRS and we won and they werent able to give confidential information of immigrant taxpayers to ICE. And I even pushed the airlines around and they had to dismantle this structure that they had where they were selling passing your data to ICE. So, Ive won. Ive fought the administration and won.

For conservatives who believe in the rule of law and secure borders, Espaillats remarks underscore a growing divide in Washington, where some elected officials proudly work to undermine immigration enforcement rather than strengthen it. His comments raise serious questions about a political culture that rewards open resistance to agencies tasked with upholding federal law, even as communities across the country grapple with the consequences of unchecked illegal immigration.