Joaquin Castro

Joaquin Castro (born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. The district includes just over half of his native San Antonio. He currently serves on the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. From 2003 to 2013, Castro represented the 125th district in the Texas House of Representatives. While in the state legislature, he served as vice-chair of the Higher Education Committee and was a member of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee. He also previously served on other committees, such as County Affairs, Border & International Affairs, and Juvenile Justice & Family Issues. Joaquin served as campaign chair for his identical twin brother, Julian Castro, during his 2020 presidential campaign. The Center for Effective Lawmaking, at Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked him as the most effective House Democrat in the 119th Congress (2023–25). During the 2nd Trump administration Castro was instrumental in releasing improperly-detained migrant children and their families from the Dilley detention center, including the famous case of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos.