Media

Last Updated 5/6/2026

Title: While Darializa has been in our community fighting for us, Espaillat has been working for his donors and lining their pockets. The politics of the past has failed us, it’s time for a change.

Mientras Darializa ha estado en nuestra comunidad luchando por nosotros, Espaillat ha estado trabajando para sus donantes y llenándoles los bolsillos. Esa es la política del pasado y nos ha fallado. Es hora de un cambio.

Summary: There are several key contrasts that highlight our theme above. It’s important that voters are seeing positive Darializa messaging throughout, in addition to the negatives on Espaillat.

It is particularly important that voters know that Darializa is not just calling to abolish ICE, she has a track record of successfully fighting ICE to help get US residents released. She will stand up to Trump and support Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda.

Espaillat fights for his donors, not for us. That’s why he has failed to stand up to Trump and ICE:

  • Mahmoud Khalil story: Espaillat turns a blind eye while New Yorkers are kidnapped off the street; Darializa has successfully fought to free them and reunite families. When NY-13 resident Mahmoud was taken by ICE, Darializa helped lead the fight to free him and reunite him with his family. Espaillat, on the other hand, refused to meet with his family and merely said that he “expects” Trump’s “Department of Justice to work within the confines of the law.”
    • For voters under 45, using Mahmoud’s name can be helpful
    • For voters over 45, he is not well known and we should not use his name. Ex: “When someone from our district was kidnapped by ICE, dari worked to reunite him with his family. Espaillat backed down and said he trusted Trump to follow the law.”
  • ICE receipts: Darializa has been successfully reuniting families separated by ICE for years. She has also been calling to abolish ICE for years. Espaillat, on the other hand, does not want to abolish ICE, and has voted to fund Trump’s ICE to the effect of at least $7.6 billion dollars. He has also accepted at least $115,000 from ICE contractors. He is turning a blind eye to New Yorkers kidnapped by ICE, and is continuing to support ICE & its status quo because his donors financially benefit — instead of standing up to ICE and keeping his community safe.  
  • Trump: Adriano Espaillat has supported key parts of Donald Trump’s agenda. He voted with Trump on his corrupt cryptocurrency bill, the Genius Act, allowing Trump and his family to profit off Crypto while in office. Espaillat also voted for more military funding to Israel again and again, even when those weapons were used in the genocide in Gaza.
  • Developers/affordability: Adriano Espaillat is bankrolled by real estate developers who are driving up our rents and pushing working people out of the city. As rents skyrocket, Espaillat has taken $250,000 from New York’s biggest real estate developers. That’s why he has done nothing as rents go up and our city becomes gentrified. New Yorkers deserve a Representative who will fight for us, not for their wealthy donors

It’s time for a change. Darializa Avila Chevalier has successfully fought for us as a member of our community. In Congress, she will fight ICE, Trump, and for Zohran Mamdani’s affordability agenda:

Es hora de un cambio. Darializa Avila Chevalier ha luchado por nuestra comunidad. En el Congreso, enfrentará a ICE y a Trump, y luchará por bajar el costo de vida siguiendo la agenda de Zohran Mamdani:

  • Darializa bio: Darializa Avila Chevalier has been fighting the rich and powerful her whole life. Darializa was raised by working-class Dominican immigrant parents and now works in a Harlem public defender’s office. She has fought ICE to free US residents  illegally detained, reunited families separated by Trump’s policies, and provided support to victims of police brutality. Darializa is running for Congress to fix a system that works for the rich and powerful and neglects everyday New Yorkers, especially those uptown and in the Bronx. She will fight to abolish ICE, hold big corporations and real estate developers accountable, end the genocide in Gaza, and lower costs so regular people can once again afford to live in New York. 
  • Mahmoud Khalil story + ICE: When NY-13 resident Mahmoud Khalil was taken by ICE, Darializa helped lead the fight to free him and reunite him with his family. Darializa has been successfully reuniting families separated by ICE for years. In Congress, she will stand up for New Yorkers and fight to abolish ICE.
    • For voters under 45, using Mahmoud’s name can be helpful
    • For voters over 45, he is not well known and we should not use his name. Ex: “When someone from our district was kidnapped by ICE, dari worked to reunite him with his family. Espaillat backed down and said he trusted Trump to follow the law.”
  • Affordability: Darializa, a renter herself, will stand up to the private landlords and big corporations who are raising New Yorkers’ rents and making the city more unaffordable. She is running on a policy platform of divesting from the war machine and investing in her community — ensuring funding is allocated to babies, not bombs — to support critical measures like child tax credits and support Zohran’s affordability agenda in Washington DC. She supports Medicare for All and eliminating all medical debt.

Top turnout messages:

  • ICE, Mahmoud story
  • Medicare for all/Zohran affordability agenda
  • Fighting big corporations

Top persuasion messages:

  • Black 45+
    • Bio/fighting against police brutality
    • Housing/Zohran affordability agenda
  • Latino 45+
    • ICE contrast
    • Fighting big corporations
    • Zohran affordability agenda/medicare for all
  • White liberal 45+
    • ICE contrast
    • Zohran affordability agenda/Medicare for all
    • Fighting big corporations

Core goals:

  • Early (weeks 9 to 6):
    • 18-45 voters need to see on the go our turnout message.
    • 45+ Black voters need to read, see on the go, and hear our persuasion message.
      • Read 1: Bio: investigator in a neighborhood public defender’s office, work fighting against police brutality, committed to affordability
      • Read 2: Affordability: Housing for all (Un hogar digno para cada familia), Zohran agenda Affordability, Medicare for all + health care debt, 
      • Read 3: Affordability contrast: Housing for all, babies not bombs (Invertir en nuestros niños y niñas, no en guerras), real estate developer contrast
  • Middle (weeks 5 to 3):
    • 45+ Black voters need to continue to read, see on the go and hear our persuasion message
      • Read 4: Mahmoud story: fought for Mahmoud’s release, has reunited families over the past decade, Espaillat doesn’t fight ICE or Trump, even when members of our own community are kidnapped 
      • Read 5: ICE contrast: Mahmoud, ICE contractor funding, ICE votes
      • Read 6: Espaillat negative – $ from ICE —> votes for ICE funding, doesn’t fight trump, $ from AIPAC —> votes for $ for Israel, rather than to make life more affordable, $ from Developers —> Doesn’t fight landlords, our rents go up
    • 45+ Latino voters need to read, see on the go, and hear our persuasion message.
      • Read 1: Mahmoud story: fought for Mahmoud’s release, reunited families pre-Mahmoud, Espaillat doesn’t fight ICE or Trump, even when members of our own community are kidnapped
      • Read 2:  ICE contrast: Mahmoud, ICE contractor funding, ICE votes
      • Read 3: Espaillat negative – $ from ICE —> votes for ICE funding, doesn’t fight Trump, $ from AIPAC —> votes for $ for Israel, rather than to make life more affordable, $ from Developers —> Doesn’t fight landlords, our rents go up
    • 45+ White voters need to read, and see on the go our persuasion message.
      • Read 1: Mahmoud story: fought for Mahmoud’s release, reunited families pre-Mahmoud, Espaillat doesn’t fight ICE or Trump, even when members of our own community are kidnapped
      • Read 2:  ICE contrast: Mahmoud, ICE contractor funding, ICE votes
      • Read 3: Espaillat negative – $ from ICE —> votes for ICE funding, doesn’t fight Trump, $ from AIPAC —> votes for $ for Israel, rather than to make life more affordable, $ from Developers —> Doesn’t fight landlords, our rents go up
  • Late (weeks 2 to 0):
    • All voters need to see our closing message
    • 45+ Black voters need to continue to see on the go and hear our persuasion message
    • 45+ Latino voters need to continue to see on the go and hear our persuasion message.
    • 45+ White voters need to continue to see on the go our persuasion message.
    • 18-45 voters need to read, multiple times, and see on the go that they’re being socially pressured to vote in this election

Key Targets:

  • 18-45 voters, particularly those who don’t vote regularly but voted in the 2025 mayoral election
  • Black voters 45+
  • Latino voters 45+
  • White, liberal voters 45+
  • Voters of all ages who voted in ONLY the 2025 primary
  • Key Zip Codes

Key Citations:

Mahmoud Khalil/ICE:

  • “Darializa has successfully fought to free New Yorkers”: Link 1 and Link 2
  • “When MK was taken by ICE, Darializa worked… to free him”: Link 1
  • “Espaillat … said he “expect[s]” Trump’s “Department of Justice to work within the confines of the law” Link 1

ICE receipts: 

  • “Espaillat, on the other hand, does not want to even say abolish ICE”
    •  refers to it as “overhaul ICE” [in writing]
    • Says it “must be dismantled” [in TV clip]
    • When Ellie Aghayeva was taken by ICE from Columbia on 26 Feb 2026, he said “when we take the House back in November, they [ICE] will be held accountable” Link 1
    • Wrote a 736 word op-ed about how ICE is bad but somehow ‘abolish’ still isn’t one of those words. Also has the lines “Continuing to fund ICE tells families in my district that their health care and housing costs will always come second to militarized enforcement … At a certain point, continued funding stops being reform and becomes endorsement.” Considering he has funded $8.8 billion for ICE, that’s striking. https://archive.is/0sCda
  • “Espaillat.. has voted to fund ICE to the effect of at least $7.6 billion dollars.” Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4
  • “Espaillat.. also accepted at least $130,000 from corporate contractors with current agreements with ICE contractors.” and Browse Receipts | FEC and Browse Receipts | FEC and Link 1 and Link 2

Trump: 

  • “Adriano Espaillat has supported key parts of Donald Trump’s agenda. He voted with Trump on his corrupt cryptocurrency bill, the Genius Act” Link 1 and Link 2
  • “…allowing Trump and his family to profit off Crypto while in office.” Link 1 and Link 2
  • “…and voting for more military aid to Israel again and again,” Link 1, Link 2, Link 3
  • “even when those weapons were used on innocent Palestinian women and children in Gaza.” Link 1 and Link 2

Developers/affordability:

Darializa bio:

  • “…Darializa has fought ICE to free US residents illegally detained, reunited families separated by Trump’s policies,” Link 1
  • “… and provided support to victims of police brutality.” Link 2

Assets*: View Here

*Additional video and still photo assets will be posted regularly throughout the campaign

The campaign:

  • The campaign will be focusing on turning out young voters by communicating to them on the go, and communicating broadly and on the go to spanish speaking and latino voters. If budget allows, voters will see our messaging in a targeted way.

For Validators: