Yalidy Matos

1965

U.S. Invasion

The United States invaded Dominican Republic twice, first between 1916 and 1924 and second in 1965. The second 1965 invasion served as a catalyst for Dominican migration to the United States and abroad. Dominican migration to the United States was still low during this time; most emigrants were political in nature. An estimated 84,065 Dominicans migrated to the United States between 1960 and 1969. The passage of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act also opened up the door to more immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean.

1980s

Immigration to the United States

Immigration to the U.S. rose to unprecedented levels during the 1980s. Between 1980 and 1989, the economic crisis in DR continued to drive the Dominicans to the United States.

1990s

Between 1990 and 1999, the Dominican population in the United increased dramatically increasing to approximately 365,000 peaking in 1994, which is also the year Dominican dual citizenship was approved.

The Dominican Republic was the number one source of immigrants to NYC between 1970 and 1994. By 1995, Dominicans started to bypass NYC as their settlement in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Florida.

As of 2021, Dominicans make up 8.5% of the Latino population in NYC, 20.5% in Providence, Rhode Island, and 2.5% in Miami, Florida.

1991

Election of the first U.S. Dominican elected officials

On November 4, 1991, City Council Member Kay Palacios was elected to represent Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. Palacios is U.S.-born of Dominican parents. The next day, Guillermo Linares was elected to the New York City Council representing District 10. The largest number of Dominican elected officials exists in NYC.

Linares went on to hold multiple elected and nominated positions including serving as a member of the President’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for Hispanic American when President Clinton appointed him in 1999 as commission chair. He also served as NYC Commissioner of Immigrant Affairs in 2004. In 2010, he was elected State Assemblyman for the 72nd District and in 2014 he ran and won his old Assembly seat.

1992

“The Dominican Studies Institute of the City University of New York (CUNY DSI) came into being through the agency of the Council of Dominican Educators, community activists, and other academics from CUNY, to address the lack of reliable academic information about Dominicans available to students, scholars, and the community at large in the United States. CUNY DSI is the first and only university-based research institution in the United States focused on the study of the Dominican experience.” (DSI Website)

The Institute began as a pilot project in academic year 1992-1993.

2002

Diana Reyna was a member of the New York City Council from 2002 to 2013. She was the first Dominican American woman elected to public office in New York State.

2005

Grace Diaz (born February 21, 1957) is an American politician who is a Democratic State Representative from Rhode Island representing District 11 in the city of Providence, Rhode Island.

She was the first Dominican-American woman elected to state office in the history of the United States of America. When she was appointed vice-chair of the Rhode Island Democratic Party she became the first Latina woman in Rhode Island to serve in such a high-ranking position. In January 2015, Diaz was named Democratic Caucus Chair making her a member of the House Leadership Team.

2008

Election of the first elected Dominican Mayor in the United States

Alex Blanco (born 1972 in Dominican Republic) was the first elected and second serving Dominican American mayor in the United States, who served as mayor of Passaic, New Jersey.

The first serving Dominican American mayor comes from Lawrence, Massachusetts, Marcos Devers, born in DR, who served as Acting Mayor, and thus was not elected, but has since served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

2010

Election of Providence, Rhode Island’s first Hispanic Mayor and first Dominican Mayor in the City

Angel Taveras, born in the United States, became the first Latino mayor of the city of Providence and the third elected and fourth serving Dominican American mayor in the United States.

2017

In 2017, Representative Adriano Espaillat assumed office as the first Dominican American and first formerly undocumented immigrant to serve in Congress

Espaillat was born on September 27, 1954, in Santiago, Dominican Republic. Espaillat served in the New York State Assembly from 1997 to 2010. From January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2016, he was Member of the New York Senate
from the 31st district. In 2012 and in 2014, Espaillat ran for Congress losing to Charles Rangel twice.

In November 2015, Espaillat ran for Congress again. He was running for an open seat; Rangel had announced that he would not seek a 22nd term in 2016. He won with 89% of the vote.

When Espaillat took office on January 3, 2017, he became only the third person to represent what is now the 13th in 72 years. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. held the district from 1945 to 1971; Rangel had won the seat after defeating Powell in the 1970 primary.

2019

Julia Mejia is an At-Large City Councilor in Boston, Massachusetts. Elected in 2019, Mejia is the first Latina elected to the council.

Born in Dominican Republics, Mejia is driven by a lifelong pursuit of justice and equity, Councilor Mejia has created countless opportunities for others to step into their power and advocate for positive change as a community organizer. Following the 2019 election and a historic two-month recount, Julia won her seat by a single vote and is now the first Afro-Latina to sit on the Boston City Council.

2020

Daisy Cocco DeFilippis (born 25 February 1949 in Dominican Republic) is the current president at Hostos Community College in The Bronx, making her the first person born in the Dominican Republic to serve as President of a college of the City University of New York.

Previously, from 2008 to 1 August 2020 she was president of Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) in Waterbury, Connecticut. Making her the first Dominican president of a
community college in the United States.

She is the author of works of fiction and non-fiction dealing with Dominican and Dominican-American women.

2021

Sabina Matos (born February 13, 1974) is a Dominican-American politician serving as the 70th lieutenant governor of Rhode Island.

Sabina Matos is the first Dominican American elected to statewide office in the United States. Matos also holds the distinction of being the first Black statewide officeholder in Rhode Island.

She previously represented Ward 15 in the Providence City Council and served as Council President. She is currently a candidate in the special election for Rhode Island’s 1st congressional district.

2021

Julissa Reynoso Pantaleón (born January 2, 1975) is a Dominican-American attorney and diplomat who is the United States Ambassador to Spain and Andorra. Most recently, she was the chief of staff to First Lady Jill Biden. 

2023

Thomas Edward Perez (born October 7, 1961) is an American politician and attorney currently serving as senior advisor to the president of the United States and director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, holding both positions since June 2023.

Perez previously served as the United States secretary of labor (2013–2017), the chair of the Democratic National Committee (2017–2021), and United States assistant attorney general for civil rights (2009–2013).

Prior to 2009, Perez was on the county council of Montgomery County, Maryland from its 5th district from 2002 to 2006. After which, he was Secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation from 2007 to 2009.

2023

Mayor Adams Appoints Ana Almanzar as Deputy Mayor for Strategic Initiatives.

Mayor Eric Adams on Friday named Ana Almanzar, a nonprofit health executive, as the new deputy mayor of strategic initiatives.

Almanzar and her family immigrated to Bushwick, Brooklyn, from the Dominican Republic when she was 17 years old.

Almanzar joins four fellow women deputy mayors in the administration. She is the first deputy mayor of Latino heritage appointed by Adams.