LATINO POLITICS – THE HISPANIC BLOG

SHOULD LATINOS BE REPUBLICAN?

October 2, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Mitt Romney‘s presidential chances are caught between the agenda of the conservative Tea Party wing and the demands of the Latino electorate which is increasingly alienated by The Republican Party’s stance on immigration, writes the ABC’s Michael Brissenden. Among the bowls full of unguarded truth spoken by Mitt Romney at that now infamous $50,000-a-plate dinner in Florida is a glaring recognition of a significant threat to the long-term survival of the Republican Party. Don’t worry about all the bon mots that will be reheated from that night and put into play for this election cycle, Mitt Romney might be caviar-coated toast but even he recognizes that his party has a structural problem which if not addressed soon could keep them out of the White House forever.

Since that video was aired much of the media discussion has focused on Mitt Romney’s declaration that it wasn’t his job to worry about the 47 per cent of voters who don’t pay tax and who believe they are victims with an overblown sense of entitlement to government support. But not much has been said about that other percentage of voter that neither he nor his republican Republican stable mates appear to be worrying about at this stage – Latinos. This is despite the fact that Mitt Romney himself acknowledges the growing increasing political significance of the US’s fastest-growing demographic.

As the waiters (who may or may not have been Latino but were likely in the 47 per cent bracket referred to) looked on, Mitt told the gathering of wealthy donors that his father was born in Mexico but that unfortunately he had been born of American parents who just happened to be living in Mexico. If, however, he had been born of Mexican parents then he said, “I’d have a better shot of winning this … I say that jokingly, but it’d be helpful if they’d been Latino.”

And he knows it would be helpful because the Latino vote is becoming so important. Many Republicans admit it’s the reason why some of the swing states like Nevada and Colorado are no longer looking as much like swing states: because Latinos there, and all across the country, are overwhelmingly voting for the Democrats.

Even Florida has shifted – a state that because of the older generation of Cuban immigrants had been solidly posting broad Latino support for the Republican Party. Now the younger generation of Cubans are voting for the Democrats and the new influx of Latinos from elsewhere in Latin America are voting that way too.

What next? Texas? It was Ronald Reagan who famously said “Latinos are Republican. They just don’t know it yet.” way back the 1980s. He also granted a partial amnesty for illegal immigrants during his term, a position that at the moment is a world away from the sort of immigration policy that is championed by a party increasingly influenced by Tea Party wing.

To win the nomination Romney has had to bend ever further to their agenda. He denounced the Dream Act (a bill Bill that would give conditional permanent residency to those brought to this country by their parents when they were children). He supported Arizona’s controversial tough law (SB 1070) that allows police to check a person’s immigration status at will. He also declared that ‘self deportation’ was the best way of dealing with undocumented immigrants.Romney says what the country US needs is a permanent fix to problems posed by and faced by the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the country but he has so far been vague on what that permanent fix might be.

IN THIS VIDEO ARE CLIPS OF BOTH PRESIDENT OBAMA AND MITT ROMNEY BEING INTERVIEWED ON IMMIGRATION

As the Reagan quote suggests Latinos should be natural Republicans. Most are conservative, Catholic and entrepreneurial, they are here in the US because they believe in the transformational potential of the American dream, but almost every one of them has a relative, or knows someone who has a relative, who is in the country illegally. Immigration policy is a big deal in the Latino community and most sensible republicans Republicans know it. Many Republicans say privately that this is the last time they’ll be able to go to an election with their current immigration platform. They accept that they it is time to stop using terms such as “illegal aliens” and instead start talking about “opportunity”. Supporting the Dream Act is the first step.

IS PRESIDENT OBAMA DESIGNATING LATINO ICON’S CESAR CHAVEZ’ HOME A NATIONAL MONUMENT?

October 1, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

President Barack Obama is designating the California home of labor leader Cesar Chavez as a national monument, a move likely to shore up support from Hispanic and progressive voters just five weeks before the election.

Labor and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez is buried at La Paz in Keene, Calif., where President Obama will announce a national monument next week. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / October 1, 2012)

The White House said Monday that Obama will establish the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument in Keene, Calif., during a campaign swing through California next week. The property is known as La Paz, short for Nuestra Senora Reina de la Paz, or Our Lady Queen of Peace. The site served as national headquarters of the United Farm Workers union, as well as Chavez’s home, from the early 1970s until his death in 1993. Chavez is buried there and his gravesite will be part of the monument.

uestra Seňora Reina de La Paz (commonly known as La Paz) is a property encompassing 187 acres in the Tehachapi Mountains of eastern Kern County, California, and is associated with Cesar Chavez (1927-1993), one of the most important historic Latino leaders in the United States.

Obama said in a statement that Chavez “gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere,” adding that La Paz was at the center of significant civil rights events. By designating his home as a national monument, “Chavez’ legacy will be preserved and shared to inspire generations to come,” Obama said.

Obama said in a statement that Chavez “gave a voice to poor and disenfranchised workers everywhere.” (Photo: AP)

As head of the UFW, Chavez staged a massive grape boycott that raised awareness of the plight of predominantly Latino farm workers. His efforts were credited with inspiring millions of other Latinos in their fight for more educational opportunities, better housing and more political power.

Cesar Chavez Phoenix Rallies 05/1972 Photographer: El Malcriado

Creation of a national monument at La Paz follows designation of the site in the San Joaquin Valley near Bakersfield as a national historic site. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the site’s designation on the National Register of Historic Places last year. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Chavez’s founding of the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the UFW. The Chavez monument will be the fourth national monument designated by Obama using the Antiquities Act.

SUPREME COURT SHARED ITS DECISION ON SB1070: “THEY ARE ASKING FOR OUR PAPERS, SO LET’S SHOW THEM OUR VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS!”

June 25, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez Leave a Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Photo: Creative Commons/Talk Radio News Service

The Supreme Court struck down much of Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration S.B. 1070 law saying states have little authority to set immigration rules against the wishes of the president or Congress. But the states’ remaining authority is enough to deter prospective illegal immigrants, say reform advocates.

SOURCE: AP Photo / Matt York

The judges did allow state law enforcement officials some ability to quiz people about their legal status during traffic stops or arrests. The court had earlier OK’d state rules requiring employers to check the residency of prospective hires.

“States now have broad latitude to carry out a policy of attrition through enforcement,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “It is now up to [state governments] to choose whether to protect the interests of illegal aliens or the interests of citizens,” he said.

“Today’s ruling from the United States Supreme Court in the Arizona immigration case contains a major victory for law enforcement in South Carolina,” said that state’s attorney general, Alan Wilson. “The most important element of South Carolina’s [immigration] law, the ability of law enforcement to verify a suspected illegal alien’s status upon an ‘authorized lawful detention,’ was found to be Constitutional on its face,” he said in a June 25 statement.

The court’s decision said the Constitution gives Congress the power to set immigration laws. Existing federal immigration laws supersede Arizona’s laws, said the court, whose decision bars laws requiring non-citizen residents to carry documents showing they are legal residents and curbs laws that allow the arrest of illegal immigrants.

Kagan recused herself because she had been Obama’s Solicitor General when the federal government led the lawsuit against the state of Arizona.

Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan recused herself from the decision, leaving 8 judges to settle the case. The decision was made by a five-to-three vote, with Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissenting. “Because Congress has occupied the field, even complementary state regulation is impermissible,” said Justice Anthony Kennedy, who wrote the June 25 decision. Kennedy was nominated by President Ronald Reagan. But Scalia slammed his colleagues’ failure to guard states’ ability to govern themselves.

“I believe that each state has the duty — and the right — to secure our borders and preserve the rule of law,” Romney said. Republican presidential candidate seemed to ally himself with Scalia and state legislators. “Arizona is entitled to have ‘its own immigration policy’ — including a more rigorous enforcement policy — so long as that does not conflict with federal law… [and] it is beyond question that a State may make violation of federal law a violation of state law as well,” Scalia wrote in a biting dissent.

“Today’s opinion… deprives States of what most would consider the defining characteristic of sovereignty: the power to exclude from the sovereign’s territory people who have no right to be there,” he wrote. “Neither the Constitution itself nor even any law passed by Congress supports this result.”

photo source: Jonathan Gibby/Getty Images

Progressives-allied groups, such as La Raza, had argued that Arizona’s law is unconstitutional because the federal government should have the sole authority to enforce immigration rules. They also argued that police enforcement would tend to focus on subgroups, such as Latinos or Asians. The court approved the residency checks of suspected illegal immigrants who are arrested or stopped for suspected non-immigration violations, but said the checks would be subject to continued review and approval by federal judges.

2009 Getty Images

“If the law only requires state officers to conduct a status check during the course of an authorized, lawful detention or after a detainee has been released, the provision would likely survive,” said the court. “This opinion does not foreclose other preemption and constitutional challenges to the law as interpreted and applied after it goes into effect,” said the court.

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PRESIDENT OBAMA LEADS THE HISPANIC VOTE

June 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Photo: Poll: Obama Favored Over Romney Among Hispanic Voters

President Barack Obama is leading likely Republican opponent Mitt Romney among Hispanic voters in the key electoral states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada y Virginia, according to a survey released Friday. The poll taken by Latino Decisions shows Obama with 53 percent support in Florida among Hispanics against 37 percent for Romney. In the other states Obama’s lead is even greater: 74 percent against 18 percent in Arizona, 70 percent against 22 percent in Colorado, 69 percent against 20 percent in Nevada, and 59 percent against 28 percent in Virginia.

Averaging the results from all five states shows Obama in front of Romney among Hispanics by 63 percent to 27 percent, according to the survey, which was taken between June 12-21 among 2,000 Latino voters and has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.2 percent. Part of the Democratic incumbent’s advantage “appears related” to his recent announcement temporarily suspending the deportations of hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants, a measure that will particularly benefit Hispanics, according to Latino Decisions.

hispanic voters

The survey also asked Latinos to quantify their level of enthusiasm about the upcoming November elections. Sixty percent said they were “very enthusiastic” about the vote compared with just 47 percent in November 2011.

IMMIGRATION DEBATE TAKES CENTER STAGE

June 23, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

(Credit: AP Photo/Getty Images)

No longer a backburner issue, immigration is roiling the presidential contest as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney seek to court the nation’s swelling Hispanic population. The outcome could influence political battle lines and shape American politics for generations.

The Supreme Court is about to render judgment on a get-tough Arizona law, and just last week the Democratic president announced plans to ease deportation rules for some children of illegal immigrants. With Election Day less than five months away, Hispanic voters are energized and paying close attention.

photo source: flickr

“There’s a lot at stake. We’re talking about a significant share of the American electorate that could well decide this election,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. “It’s only now that both candidates are turning their attention to the Latino vote.”

LBJ signing the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Indeed, both sides are crafting aggressive strategies to appeal to a demographic that is by no means monolithic but has supported Democrats in recent elections. Some Republicans fear — and Democrats hope — that Obama could capitalize on this moment to help solidify Hispanic voters as predominantly Democratic this fall and for years to come, much as President Lyndon Johnson hardened the black vote for Democrats as he pushed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The stakes are high not only for states with larger Hispanic populations such as Florida, Nevada and Colorado, but for a growing number of other battlegrounds — Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia, among them — where even a modest shift among Latino voters could be significant. The United States‘ Latino population surged from about 35 million in 2000 to 50 million in 2010, according to the Census Bureau.

Obama is riding a wave of Latino enthusiasm over his decision to allow hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to stay in the country and work. Under the administration plan, illegal immigrants can avoid deportation if they can prove they were brought to the United States before they turned 16 and are younger than 30, have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have no criminal history, graduated from a U.S. high school or earned a GED or served in the military. The new policy could help anywhere from 800,000 young immigrants — the administration’s estimate — to the Pew Hispanic Center‘s estimate of 1.4 million.

The move was politically timely, in the heat of the campaign and with Obama needing to energize a key part of his base of supporters — many of whom had grown disenchanted over the past three years. While the direct beneficiaries of the directive can’t vote for Obama, his action has widespread support among American Latinos. In fact, Obama has long enjoyed support among Hispanics — he won 67 percent of the Latino vote in 2008.

But he risked losing their enthusiasm, partly because Hispanics have been among the hardest hit by the economic slowdown. Obama also lost some support because he hasn’t fulfilled promises of a comprehensive overhaul of the immigration system and because his administration has been aggressively deporting illegal immigrants. A December poll by the Pew Hispanic Center showed that 59 percent of Latinos disapproved of the president’s handling of deportations.

Obama supporters 2008 photo source: Doug Mills/The New York Times

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod predicts that the president could exceed his 2008 performance with Hispanics this year, noting that his opponent then was Sen. John McCain, who had initially pushed for an overhaul of the immigration system. Axelrod contends that Romney is “hopelessly twisted up on this issue.” Obama had troubles of his own before the administration announced the recent initiative. Supporters of many illegal immigrants — students as well as workers— had been mounting protests at Obama campaign headquarters this month in places such as Denver and Los Angeles.

Marco Saavedra, a Dream Act protester, participates in a sit-in Friday at President Barack Obama’s Walnut Hills campaign headquarters. The office has been closed since Saavedra and other protesters arrived Wednesday. / The Enquirer/Cara Owsley

The Romney campaign has struggled to offer a consistent response to the president’s move. Romney has assailed Obama’s “broken promises” on immigration in recent days but has focused on the new policy’s temporary status as his prime criticism.

photo: photo: AP / Stephan Savoia

“These people deserve to understand what their status will be long term, not just four and a half months,” Romney said on Fox News Radio this week. “And that’s why I think it’s important for me and for Congress to come together to put together a plan that secures the border, that insists that we have an employment verification system and that deals with the children of those who have come here illegally on a long-term basis, not a stopgap measure.”

photo: photo: AP / Gerald Herbert

As is typical, Romney intends to focus on the economy when he faces the Latino convention on Thursday. The former Massachusetts governor argues that his economic credentials would benefit all people who have struggled under Obama’s leadership in recent years — women, younger voters and Hispanics among them. Still, Romney’s own immigration policy is unclear as he works to distance himself from harsh conservative rhetoric that was common during the extended GOP primary season earlier in the year.

photo source: AP / Paul Sancya

Facing a Rhode Island audience in April, for example, Romney drew large cheers when he said, “We want people to come here legally. And we like it when they come here speaking English.” He did not support the Obama administration’s lawsuit challenging Arizona’s hardline immigration law. And he said that he would veto the DREAM Act that would have given legal status to some children of illegal immigrants. Romney has refused so far to say whether he would reverse Obama’s new policy that does much the same thing, albeit on a temporary basis.

A Spanish language ad from the Obama campaign targeting Latino voters.

Even before he announced the new rules, Obama was looking to build his support among Latinos, vastly outspending Romney on Spanish-language television and radio. But Romney has released targeted TV and radio ads in Spanish, including some that feature one of Romney’s sons who is a fluent Spanish speaker. Simon Rosenberg, who follows immigration matters as head of the liberal-leaning group NDN, said the president’s move on immigration not only helps him energize Latino voters, it also helps cast him as a president willing to take bold steps. For a Latino community that worried that neither party was doing enough, “they now have a champion,” he said. But, he added, “There will be a resonance beyond the Latino community.”

Besides the new immigration initiative, the Obama camp has been using the new health care law to appeal to Hispanic voters, a rare use of the signature Obama measure in the campaign. An ad campaign this week in Nevada, Colorado and Florida focuses on the benefits of the health care law for Hispanics and features Cristina Saralegui, a popular Spanish-language television personality who endorsed Obama this week. She says in the ad that Obama’s health care law guarantees that “the great majority of Hispanics” will have access to doctors and hospitals.

SHOULD LATINOS BE REPUBLICAN?

IS PRESIDENT OBAMA DESIGNATING LATINO ICON’S CESAR CHAVEZ’ HOME A NATIONAL MONUMENT?

President Barack Obama is designating the California home of labor leader Cesar Chavez as a national monument, a move likely to shore up support from Hispanic and progressive voters just five weeks before the election.

As head of the UFW, Chavez staged a massive grape boycott that raised awareness of the plight of predominantly Latino farm workers. His efforts were credited with inspiring millions of other Latinos in their fight for more educational opportunities, better housing and more political power.

SUPREME COURT SHARED ITS DECISION ON SB1070: “THEY ARE ASKING FOR OUR PAPERS, SO LET’S SHOW THEM OUR VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS!”

The judges did allow state law enforcement officials some ability to quiz people about their legal status during traffic stops or arrests. The court had earlier OK’d state rules requiring employers to check the residency of prospective hires.

PRESIDENT OBAMA LEADS THE HISPANIC VOTE

The survey also asked Latinos to quantify their level of enthusiasm about the upcoming November elections. Sixty percent said they were “very enthusiastic” about the vote compared with just 47 percent in November 2011.

IMMIGRATION DEBATE TAKES CENTER STAGE

No longer a backburner issue, immigration is roiling the presidential contest as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney seek to court the nation’s swelling Hispanic population. The outcome could influence political battle lines and shape American politics for generations.

The Romney campaign has struggled to offer a consistent response to the president’s move. Romney has assailed Obama’s “broken promises” on immigration in recent days but has focused on the new policy’s temporary status as his prime criticism.

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SHOULD LATINOS BE REPUBLICAN?

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IS PRESIDENT OBAMA DESIGNATING LATINO ICON’S CESAR CHAVEZ’ HOME A NATIONAL MONUMENT?

President Barack Obama is designating the California home of labor leader Cesar Chavez as a national monument, a move likely to shore up support from Hispanic and progressive voters just five weeks before the election.

As head of the UFW, Chavez staged a massive grape boycott that raised awareness of the plight of predominantly Latino farm workers. His efforts were credited with inspiring millions of other Latinos in their fight for more educational opportunities, better housing and more political power.

Share this:

SUPREME COURT SHARED ITS DECISION ON SB1070: “THEY ARE ASKING FOR OUR PAPERS, SO LET’S SHOW THEM OUR VOTER REGISTRATION CARDS!”

The judges did allow state law enforcement officials some ability to quiz people about their legal status during traffic stops or arrests. The court had earlier OK’d state rules requiring employers to check the residency of prospective hires.

Share this:

PRESIDENT OBAMA LEADS THE HISPANIC VOTE

The survey also asked Latinos to quantify their level of enthusiasm about the upcoming November elections. Sixty percent said they were “very enthusiastic” about the vote compared with just 47 percent in November 2011.

Share this:

IMMIGRATION DEBATE TAKES CENTER STAGE

No longer a backburner issue, immigration is roiling the presidential contest as President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney seek to court the nation’s swelling Hispanic population. The outcome could influence political battle lines and shape American politics for generations.

The Romney campaign has struggled to offer a consistent response to the president’s move. Romney has assailed Obama’s “broken promises” on immigration in recent days but has focused on the new policy’s temporary status as his prime criticism.

Share this:

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