The Rise of Dominican American Political Power in the United States

Presented by NYU Wagner Faculty Domingo Morel and The Latinx Project. In Politics in Our Veins, Yalidy Matos, Domingo Morel, and Michelle Bueno Vásquez chart the rise of Dominican American political power across the United States, exploring the myriad factors that have contributed to their political success as thoughtful citizens, activists, and elected officials. On October 21, join us for a panel conversation marking the publication of the new book with the authors alongside Ramona Hernandez, Raquel Batista, and Cristina Beltrán. This event takes place at NYU Wagner (105 East 17th Street). Doors will open at 5 pm, and the event begins at 5:30 pm.About the BookDominican Americans are one of the largest and fastest-growing Latinx groups in the United States, with a population that has quadrupled from 517,000 to a little over 2.3 million as of 2023. While New York City is home to the largest Dominican community in the country—and is where most Dominican American elected officials (DEOs) are from—Dominican Americans continue to increase their representation nationwide. Learn more via NYU Press.PanelistsRaquel Batista is an experienced civil rights and social impact leader in government, corporate and non-profit spaces. She previously served as the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, as Executive Director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights and more recently at the New York City Asylum Application Center assisting hundreds of recently arrived migrants with their humanitarian applications. A second-generation Afro-Dominicana, Latina, and lifelong New Yorker, Ms. Batista has been advocating for the rights of immigrant New Yorkers for over two decades.Ramona Hernández is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and the Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, both at The City College of New York. She also holds faculty affiliations with the International Migration MA Program and the Sociology PhD Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also the Executive Director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research. Dr. Hernández's latest publication, From Immigrants to Settled People: Dominicans in the United States, co-authored with Gregory Morton, is forthcoming from Lived Places Publishing Press. She was also recently selected as one of the 2026 Latino Trailblazers by City & State New York.Yalidy Matos is Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. She is the author of Moral and Immoral Whiteness in Immigration Politics. Matos has been the recipient of the 2022 American Political Science Association Distinguished Junior Scholar in Political Psychology Award and a 2024-2025 Russel Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar.Domingo Morel is Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Service at the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. He is the author and co-editor of several books, including Takeover: Race, Education, and American Democracy, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Distinguished Book Award, and most recently Developing Scholars: Race, Politics, and the Pursuit of Higher Education.Michelle Bueno Vásquez is a Doctoral Student in Political Science at Northwestern University.Cristina Beltrán works at the intersection of Latinx politics and political theory. She is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Her work has appeared in Political Theory, the Du Bois Review, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and various edited volumes. She is currently the co-editor of Theory & Event, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes work by scholars working at the intersections of political theory, cultural theory, political economy, aesthetics, philosophy, and the arts. She is also an occasional guest on MSNBC.  There will be a small reception to follow afterward.
About this Event

In Politics in Our Veins, Yalidy Matos, Domingo Morel, and Michelle Bueno Vásquez chart the rise of Dominican American political power across the United States, exploring the myriad factors that have contributed to their political success as thoughtful citizens, activists, and elected officials. On October 21, join us for a panel conversation marking the publication of the new book with the authors alongside Ramona Hernandez, Raquel Batista, and Cristina Beltrán. This event takes place at NYU Wagner (105 East 17th Street). Doors will open at 5 pm, and the event begins at 5:30 pm.

About the Book

Dominican Americans are one of the largest and fastest-growing Latinx groups in the United States, with a population that has quadrupled from 517,000 to a little over 2.3 million as of 2023. While New York City is home to the largest Dominican community in the country—and is where most Dominican American elected officials (DEOs) are from—Dominican Americans continue to increase their representation nationwide. Learn more via NYU Press.

Panelists

Raquel Batista is an experienced civil rights and social impact leader in government, corporate and non-profit spaces. She previously served as the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, as Executive Director of the Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights and more recently at the New York City Asylum Application Center assisting hundreds of recently arrived migrants with their humanitarian applications. A second-generation Afro-Dominicana, Latina, and lifelong New Yorker, Ms. Batista has been advocating for the rights of immigrant New Yorkers for over two decades.

Ramona Hernández is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and the Director of the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute, both at The City College of New York. She also holds faculty affiliations with the International Migration MA Program and the Sociology PhD Program at the CUNY Graduate Center. She is also the Executive Director of the Inter-University Program for Latino Research. Dr. Hernández's latest publication, From Immigrants to Settled People: Dominicans in the United States, co-authored with Gregory Morton, is forthcoming from Lived Places Publishing Press. She was also recently selected as one of the 2026 Latino Trailblazers by City & State New York.

Yalidy Matos is Associate Professor of Political Science at Rutgers University. She is the author of Moral and Immoral Whiteness in Immigration Politics. Matos has been the recipient of the 2022 American Political Science Association Distinguished Junior Scholar in Political Psychology Award and a 2024-2025 Russel Sage Foundation Visiting Scholar.

Domingo Morel is Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Service at the Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. He is the author and co-editor of several books, including Takeover: Race, Education, and American Democracy, which won the W.E.B. Du Bois Distinguished Book Award, and most recently Developing Scholars: Race, Politics, and the Pursuit of Higher Education.

Michelle Bueno Vásquez is a Doctoral Student in Political Science at Northwestern University.

Cristina Beltrán works at the intersection of Latinx politics and political theory. She is an associate professor and director of graduate studies in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Her work has appeared in Political Theory, the Du Bois Review, Aztlán: A Journal of Chicano Studies, Political Research Quarterly, and various edited volumes. She is currently the co-editor of Theory & Event, a peer-reviewed journal that publishes work by scholars working at the intersections of political theory, cultural theory, political economy, aesthetics, philosophy, and the arts. She is also an occasional guest on MSNBC.