Adriano Espaillat brings a unique perspective to the debate over undocumented immigrants. Espaillat and his family overstayed their visa after coming to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. He eventually became a U.S. citizen and the first member of Congress born in the Dominican Republic. After graduating from Queens College in 1978 with a degree in political science, Espaillat worked for a nonprofit agency that provided pretrial services to New York’s criminal court system. He later worked as a conflict resolution mediator and as the director of a victims’ services community office in his Washington Heights neighborhood, which is predominantly Dominican.