Protecting Immigrant Communities

 

Dan believes the United States, as a nation of immigrants, must do everything possible to protect immigrant communities from Donald Trump’s rogue, lawless ICE crackdown. 

 

During his time in Congress, Dan has:

 

• Created an immigration triage center in his Manhattan District Office, helping to connect families with immigration lawyers to quickly file habeas petitions on behalf of detainees, which has secured releases of more than 20 New Yorkers. 

• Successfully sued the Department of Homeland Security, reestablishing Members of Congress’s ability to perform oversight of ICE detention facilities. 

• Conducted weekly visits to 26 Federal Plaza, in addition to oversight visits to the Metropolitan Detention Center, to ensure that ICE is complying with the law and that detainees rights are respected. 

​

When Democrats take back the House this November, Dan will lead the push to:

​

• Abolish ICE as we know it, pursuing a complete overhaul of immigration enforcement in America from his position on the Committee on Homeland Security.

• Unmask immigration agents, and require all federal agents to clearly display their name and badge number. 

• Reform our broken immigration system to create expedited pathways to citizenship for Dreamers, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients, and asylum seekers. 

• Provide greater legal assistance to our immigrant communities to ensure no immigrant goes without proper legal representation or advice. 

​

Dan has been a leader in Congress against Trump’s immigration dragnet in order to protect our immigrant communities: 

​

• Introduced the No Secret Police Act with Rep. Espaillat, to rein in the Trump administration’s use of masked, anonymous federal agents engaged in border security and civil immigration enforcement.

• Introduced the ICE OUT Act with Rep. Swalwell, to strip qualified immunity from ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents who use excessive force and ensure accountability and justice for victims of excessive force. 

• Introduced the Upholding Protections for Unaccompanied Children Act, to reverse provisions in the Republican Big Ugly Bill that harm unaccompanied children who are seeking safety from trafficking, abuse, and exploitation in their home countries.

• Introduced the Immigration Court Due Process Protection Act with Reps. Espaillat and Velazquez, to protect immigrants who are pursuing lawful pathways to migrate to the United States and attending their court-ordered appearances from being targeted for arrests by the Trump administration. 

​

Stronger Rights for Workers

​

Dan believes American workers and organized labor are the backbone of our economy, and that labor unions are essential to restoring a robust middle class. We must provide greater protections in our workplaces and ensure workers receive the good pay, benefits, and support they need and deserve. 

​

During his time in Congress, Dan has:

​

• A 100-percent score from the AFL-CIO.

• Saved healthcare and secured safer staffing practices for over 20,000 Union actors as part of contract negotiations with Broadway.

• Advocated on behalf of REI employees by calling on REI leadership to enter into a fair collective bargaining agreement with workers.

• Stood with New York City nurses during their 2026 strike, including advocating for much-needed salary increases and health care. 

 

When Democrats take back the House this November, Dan will lead the push to:

​

• Dramatically raise the outdated federal minimum wage to ensure our workers are making living wages.

• Mandate universal family and medical leave and paid time off for all workers.

• Safeguard workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively for better working conditions. 

• Protect workers from layoffs as a result of automation or AI. 

​

Throughout his time in Congress, Dan has been a staunch and consistent advocate for a pro-labor agenda: 

​

• Cosponsored Rep. Scott’s Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a comprehensive proposal to protect workers’ right to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.

• Cosponsored Rep. Scott’s Raise the Wage Act, to reduce income inequality by raising the minimum wage to $17 for all workers and eliminating subminimum wages for tipped workers, workers with disabilities, and youth workers.

• Cosponsored Rep. Magaziner’s PTO Act, to guarantee all workers have access to paid days off from work. 

• Cosponsored Rep. Bonamici’s No Robot Bosses Act, to shield workers from discrimination caused by AI-based hiring tools.

​

Reproductive Freedom

​

Dan believes abortion is health care, reproductive rights are human rights, and every person deserves the freedom to make their own medical decisions. 

​

During his time in Congress, Dan has:

​

• Successfully pushed big pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens to obtain necessary certification to distribute mifepristone in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, helping to safeguard access to medication abortion. 

• Filed an Amicus brief in Medina v. Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic, a case challenging South Carolina’s attempts to block in-state Medicaid program beneficiaries from accessing reproductive health care at the Planned Parenthood South Atlantic (PPSAT).

​

When Democrats take back the House this November, Dan will lead the push to:

​

• Guarantee access to abortion care for all through landmark legislation in Congress.

• Expand access to reproductive health care, contraceptives, and other family planning services for all.

• Safeguard access to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies.

• Combat anti-abortion misinformation and disinformation by rightwing advocacy groups. 

 

As Republicans across the country continue to attack reproductive freedom, Dan is fighting back: 

 

• Introduced the Abortion Care Awareness Act with Rep. Crockett, to combat anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers and increase medically accurate and complete information related to accessing abortion and reproductive healthcare.

• Cosponsored Rep. Chu’s Women’s Health Protection Act, to restore the right to abortion nationwide and stop extremist abortion bans in states across the country.

• Cosponsored Rep. Fletcher’s Ensuring Women’s Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, to protect the constitutional right to travel between the states, including for the purpose of receiving reproductive health care.

• Cosponsored Rep. Fletcher’s Right to Contraception Act, to guarantee all Americans by law have a right to contraception. 

​​

Combating Antisemitism

 

Dan is working every day to root out the dangerous, rising trend of vile antisemitism wherever it exists.

​

During his time in Congress, Dan has:

​

• Served as chair of the Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, leading the conversation on the need to address the issue in Congress

• Led push for increased funding for Non-Profit Security Grants to provide federal funding for enhanced security at religious institutions like synagogues, churches and mosques. 

• Pushed HHS to report information to Congress about the troubling trend of antisemitism in healthcare. 

• Demanded the Department of Justice provide an overview of law enforcement agency compliance with hate crime reporting requirements, including for antisemitic incidents.
   

When Democrats take back the House this November, Dan will lead the push to:

​

• Surge investments into the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to provide religious institutions with the resources to protect themselves. 

• Provide greater support to the State Department’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism

• Work with jewish colleagues in Congress to pass a comprehensive security bill aimed at curbing antisemitic violence. 

​

As a Jewish New Yorker and father of five, Dan has led on this issue in Washington:

 

• Introduced the Showing Up For Student Act, which would provide funds to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to strengthen investigations into discrimination and address the backlog of complaints, most of which involve antisemitism on campus.

• Cosponsored Rep. Kathy Manning’s Countering Antisemitism Act, which would establish a first-ever National Coordinator to Counter Antisemitism.

• Cosponsored Rep. Gottheimer’s Holocaust Education and Antisemitism Lessons Act, to direct the Holocaust Memorial Museum to conduct a study on Holocaust education efforts in public schools nationwide.

​​

LGBTQ+ Equality 

​

Dan believes discrimination anywhere is a threat to civil rights everywhere. In a district home to a large, vibrant LGBTQ+ community and the Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement, Dan is a proud supporter of the LGBTQ+ community and an advocate for enshrining LGBTQ+ protections in law. 

​

During his time in Congress, Dan has:

​

• Led the fight against the Trump Administration’s attempts to rewrite the history of Stonewall by removing references to trans individuals from the Stonewall National Monument. 

• Rejected attacks on LGBTQ identity by raising the Pride flag at Stonewall with other state and local officials after the Trump administration issued guidance to prevent its being flown.  

• Used his position on the Judiciary committee to expose Republicans blatant weaponization of the trans community as a partisan political issue. 

 

When Democrats take back the House this November, Dan will lead the push to:

​

• Extend the non-discrimination protections in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to the LGBTQ+ community.

• Ensure the history of the LGBTQ+ movement is celebrated and properly acknowledged by our government. 

• Strengthen hate crime laws and government-wide reporting of incidents of anti-LGBTQ+ hate.

• Require schools to create programs to prevent harassment and protect LGBTQ+ individuals.
   

As a member of the Congressional Equality Caucus, Dan champions LGBTQ+ rights: 

​

• Cosponsored Rep. Takano’s Equality Act, to ban LGBTQ+ discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, federal funding, and more. 

• Cosponsored Rep. Pocan’s Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act, to prohibit harassment based on actual or perceived race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, or religion, and require schools to recognize cyberbullying as a form of harassment.

• Cosponsored Rep. Krishnamoorthi’s 988 LGBTQ+ Youth Access Act, to ensure dedicated, trained support remains available to LGBTQ+ youth who contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 

• Cosponsored Rep. Balint’s Transgender Health Care Access Act, to expand access to live-saving, evidence-based gender-affirming health care and invest in training for health care providers.