DR needs to strengthen its political pull in USThe Dominican ambassador in Washington, D.C. Bernardo Vega said that the DR needs to strengthen its leadership as a community in the US. He said Dominicans should have as an objective that by the second centennial of Dominican independence 2044, the US elect a President of Dominican origin. He said that 10% of the Dominican-born population lives in the US. He explained that Dominicans need to defend their interests, principally in migration and social security issues, health, education and on matters concerning obstacles to remittances sent to the DR. He said about 120,000 Dominicans are also US citizens and another 630,000 are legal residents. He estimates there are an additional 75,000 illegal residents. "The problem in political terms is that while the number is high, Dominicans are predominantly Democrat Party voters, which doesn’t give them the political duality that the Cubans or Nicaraguans have in Florida," he said. He explained that most Dominicans live in New York City and Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
