Latin Post presents "Turnout," a series featuring leading politicians, government leaders and advocacy groups discussing and debating the most important issues facing the Latino voting bloc.
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In 1991, Guillermo Linares became the first Dominican-born elected to public office in the U.S., and today he's on the campaign trail that could land him another historic achievement: the first Dominican in Congress.

Linares is campaigning to become the Democratic Party's candidate for New York's 13th Congressional District, presently held by Democrat Charles Rangel, who previously announced the current 114th Congress would be his last. In describing Rangel, Linares considers him an ally with a progressive leadership that has been respectful to the diversity of the district.

"This is a very diverse district," Linares told Latin Post when describing the district, which covers Manhattan's various northern neighborhoods such as Harlem, Spanish Harlem, Inwood and Washington Heights, and The Bronx's Kingsbridge, home to large segments of Cubans, Dominicans, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, African Americans and Jewish populations.

Immigration

Linares, who currently serves as assemblyman for New York State's 72nd District, said he's keenly aware of how life is as an immigrant, as he and his parents immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic, and he was aware of the significance and opportunities to seize upon entering the country. As he matured, Linares discovered he wanted to become a teacher to better improve life situations he had encountered, such as bilingual education and assimilating in the neighborhood.

Linares supports President Barack Obama's immigration executive actions, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA), which would give nearly 4.9 million eligible undocumented immigrants with temporary protections. But he has been critical on the Obama administration for its deportation raids.

"It has been extremely detrimental to families, often there have been people deported back home when they have lived here most of their lives. This is the country that they know. But I think what is the most devastating part is when you rip apart families and the impact that has created," said Linares.

"It's my hope that his [executive] action will help remedy the devastation that so many families have experienced over the time he's been the president."

Puerto Rico

In the State Legislature, Linares and a coalition of New York State lawmakers have called on Congress to help Puerto Rico address its financial and $70 billion debt crises. Linares, a committee member of the State Assembly's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force and noting there are more Puerto Ricans living in the mainland U.S. than in the island commonwealth, said Puerto Rico has sacrificed everything for the U.S., particularly during times of war.

"Puerto Rico has been a strategic location for the United States throughout its history ... that, in itself, should be more than enough for the U.S. Congress to step up to the plate and come to the rescue and allow for Puerto Ricans to address this crisis that threatens the entire island," said Linares.

The Dominican said he's ready to stand with all Latino-elected, minority-elected and progressive-elected in not only New York but across the U.S. to increase Latino voices and to hold Congress accountable.

"We need to rally as a country, as a nation, regardless of what background we have, whether we come from the Caribbean, Latin America, the Middle East or Southeast Asia, this is something that speaks to the type of justice that can take the United States and present another face -- not the face of war, not the face of bullying others because they're perhaps developing or weaker -- but the face of what has made this country great: recognizing the diversity, the ingenuity that we have, establishing greater relationships based on trust and respect ... and Puerto Rico is the symbol that can tell the rest of the world that the United States is looking at Puerto Rico with its heart and not with its economic interest."

His Credentials

Linares is competing against seven other Democrats for the political party's nomination. Linares said New York's 13th Congressional District needs someone with diverse, organizing and mobilizing experience and to bring people together to confront challenges yet create opportunities, particularly for small businesses, public safety and the young, emerging youth professionals in both private and public sectors.

Linares said the youth has to play a key role in holding the civil rights torch his generation raised, which opened opportunities for people like him. He said such civil rights progress made throughout the last few decades have been under attack by conservatives, "who want to see nothing but serving that one percent when we know that what has built this country is the 99 percent."

"What makes a difference in terms of what I bring to the table is that I have local experience working and mobilizing in neighborhoods to face challenges affecting everyone. I have city experience as the Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs and as a city councilmember in New York City, as an assemblymember at the state level and I was also appointed in 1995, by President [Bill] Clinton, to join his commission on education for Hispanics, nationally."

Linares helped mobilize nine new schools and the 33rd police precinct into the Washington Heights neighborhood, as students were cramped into classrooms and crime levels skyrocketed, which fueled tension between police and the community.

"I'm very proud of having been in the lead and I was the only Dominican-elected official for five years while this crisis was being confronted in northern Manhattan," Linares said.

He also served as New York City's Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs between 2004 and 2009, which he crafted language policy for the millions of immigrants, including half a million undocumented, living in the Big Apple. Later, in the New York State Assembly, he would help build the state's DREAM Act, although it has yet to become law.

"As a child of the civil rights movement, we've seen challenges facing the city, the state and country but I take it on a neighborhood level because I believe that the problems of this country and the problems that we face all go down to where we are raising our children, where we have our families, where we have the fabric of our neighborhood," said Linares.

"I want to take the wealth of experience in a leadership role ... I want to bring that experience to Washington and I want to bring my neighborhoods to Washington. I want to bring Washington to the neighborhood."

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For the latest updates, follow Latin Post's Politics Editor Michael Oleaga on Twitter: @EditorMikeO or contact via email: m.oleaga@latinpost.com.

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