Gaston Espinosa, assistant professor of religious studies, was part of a national delegation of Latino civil rights leaders, scholars, and clergy that traveled to Washington, D.C., in March to discuss comprehensive immigration reform with presidential candidates Sen. John McCain (R, Arizona), Sen. Sam Brownback (R, Kansas), members of Congress including Henry Cuellar (D, Texas), and representatives from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's and Sen. Harry Reid's (D, Nevada) office on Capitol Hill.
Espinosa later presented two keynote lectures on "Trends in U.S. Latino Religions and Society" and "Latino Religions, Politics, and the Presidency" to 50 civil rights leaders and opinion makers. He also participated the following day in a meeting between African-American and Latino leaders to address common social, civic, and political issues within their communities.
He is the co-editor of Latino Religions and Civic Activism in the United States (Oxford, 2006) and editor of the forthcoming Religion and the American Presidency (Columbia, 2007).