Updated on: July 5, 2026 / 2:45 PM EDT

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The following is the full transcript of an interview with Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Democrat of New York, and Carlos Gimenez, Republican of Florida, a portion of which aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on July 5, 2026. The interview was taped on July 2, 2026.ED O'KEEFE: We turn now to Democratic Congressman Adriano Espaillat of New York and Republican Congressman Carlos- Carlos Gimenez of Florida. Congressmen, both of you, thank you for joining us. I want to start with you, Congressman Gimenez. You were almost seven years old when your family fled from Cuba at the start of the Castro regime. What do you remember about those early days in Florida?REP. GIMENEZ: Well, I remember that we- we- we all went to one house. My uncle, my aunt were kind enough to take us in. There were about 21 people in that house, and I remember vividly my first day going to school. The day before, I went to, you know, they took me to a parochial school, and, and then the nuns saying that tomorrow was my first day of school, that was my first word in English. Until then, I only spoke Spanish, and so that, I vividly remember, and then the early days there, it's like- it's like a blur, obviously, you know, but- but, yeah, it was, it was completely different than my experiences had been in Cuba.ED O'KEEFE: And Congressman Espaillat, as I understand it, you were about nine when you came to the United States from the Dominican Republic. I imagine New York City was a bit different back then.REP. ESPAILLAT: Of course. The weather was cold, obviously. I remember the cold weather. We lived with our grandparents, who had a four-and-a-half bedroom- bedroom apartment in Washington Heights, and we got there in December, and of course, we went to school. Remember sitting in the back of the classroom, and for a year or more, not knowing really a word of English, but surely and slowly we- we acclimated, and here we are.ED O'KEEFE: Do either of you remember your parents ever explaining why they wanted to become Americans?REP. GIMENEZ: Well, I mean, in my case--