Alexa Avilés

Nonprofit career and community organizing

Before entering elected politics, Avilés spent almost three decades in the not-for-profit and social-justice philanthropic sectors 1. Her work included managing grants to keep youth out of the juvenile-justice system and supporting environmental, racial-justice, government-accountability, and cultural-revitalization campaigns 2.

Most recently in this period, she served as Program Director at the Scherman Foundation, supporting local and national social-justice organizations 1. Alongside her professional work, she built a local base in Sunset Park through community involvement, serving for nearly a decade as a Parent-Teacher Association president and as a member of Brooklyn Community Board 7 3.

Elected to the City Council

In 2021, term-limited Council Member Carlos Menchaca's departure opened the 38th District seat covering Sunset Park, Red Hook, and parts of Borough Park. Avilés ran in a crowded Democratic primary backed by a strong progressive coalition, the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, the United Federation of Teachers, the Working Families Party, and Rep. Nydia Velázquez 4.

She won the Democratic primary, declaring victory on July 6, 2021, after a ranked-choice count, defeating a field that included Yu Lin, a moderate Chinese-American candidate who finished second 5,6. In the November 2021 general election she won decisively, defeating Republican Erik Frankel with over 80 percent of the vote 7. She took office on January 1, 2022, succeeding Menchaca.

Immigration Committee chair

Avilés was appointed chair of the Council's Committee on Immigration, the role that would define her tenure 8. She also served on committees including Economic Development, Public Housing, General Welfare, and Environmental Protection, and on the Council's Task Force to Combat Hate 8.

During her first term she focused on environmental justice and housing accountability in South Brooklyn, advancing legislation on cruise-ship pollution and truck congestion in Red Hook and on transparency in NYCHA management and NYPD stops 9. Her first-term legislative work is detailed in the voting-and-legislative-record section of this series.

Re-elected

Avilés won re-election in 2023, defeating Republican Paul Rodriguez in the November 7, 2023 general election 10. The win, in an off-cycle municipal election, returned her to the Council for a second term and allowed her to continue as Immigration Committee chair.

Second and third terms (2024 to present): immigration on the front line

Avilés's profile rose sharply during the second Trump administration, when her Immigration Committee chairmanship placed her at the center of New York City's response to expanded federal immigration enforcement. Key moments included:

A February 2025 joint statement with Speaker Adrienne Adams and Criminal Justice Chair Sandy Nurse opposing Mayor Eric Adams's announced cooperation with ICE on Rikers Island following his meeting with border official Tom Homan 11.

Her June 2025 vote in favor of the city budget, which she framed as the first budget since her election that she could support because it went beyond restoring prior cuts, after years of casting protest votes against budgets she viewed as inadequate 12.

Her participation in escalating protests against ICE, including a September 2025 demonstration at 26 Federal Plaza where nearly 70 people were arrested, after which she warned that further civil disobedience by elected officials was likely 13.

She also became a central figure in the contested Brooklyn Marine Terminal redevelopment fight, opposing the Economic Development Corporation's plan as a vice chair of the project's task force, a matter covered in the controversies section of this series 14.

Re-elected to a third term

Avilés faced her most competitive race in 2025. Following redistricting that added more conservative-leaning areas to her district, she drew a well-funded moderate primary challenger, Ling Ye, backed by pro-Israel and real-estate-aligned political action committees 15. Avilés won the June 24, 2025 Democratic primary decisively, taking roughly 71.5 to 72 percent of the vote to Ye's 28 percent 16.

In the November 4, 2025 general election, she defeated Republican Luis Quero, reportedly by roughly 73 to 27 percent 16. She was sworn in for a third term, with her term set to run through January 1, 2030 6. By this point she had risen to Vice Co-Chair of the Council's Progressive Caucus 17.

Program Director, Scherman Foundation, and nearly three decades in nonprofit/social-justice work (pre-2022).

PTA president (nearly a decade) and member of Brooklyn Community Board 7 (pre-2022).

New York City Council, 38th District: January 1, 2022 to present (elected 2021; re-elected 2023 and 2025).

Chair, Council Committee on Immigration (2022 to present).

Vice Co-Chair, Council Progressive Caucus.