Lack of immigration reform could cost Democrats the Latino vote
Candidates in Chicago can almost always count on a strong democratic showing from the Latino community. However, Hispanic voters in the U.S. are threatening to stay away from the polls in frustrati...
By: CCTV America
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Lack of immigration reform could cost Democrats the Latino vote - Video
TIME Politics Immigration Immigration Advocates Warn Obama Not to Think Small Young children join immigration reform protesters while marching in front of the White House July 7, 2014 in Washington, DC. Win McNameeGetty Images Reformers urge the president to sign an expansive order allowing undocumented immigrants to stay in the U.S.
Immigration activists are ratcheting up the pressure on Barack Obama, warning the President that a failure to live up to expectations for executive action on immigration would jeopardize his partys standing with the Hispanic community.
We wont take any more excuses, says Cristina Jimenez of the immigration-reform group United We Dream. What we expect from the President is for him to use his legal authority to enact a program that will protect as many people from our community as possible.
Obama pledged over the summer to take executive action this fall on immigration in the absence of legislation to fix a broken system. That promise crumbled under political pressures, as vulnerable Democrats in red states cajoled the White House into postponing the move until after Nov. 4. Now, as the midterms draw near, some reformers fear theyre about to be brushed off once more.
As the White House begins to weigh the scope of executive action, the early whispers among immigration reformers are that Obama may fall short of the lofty targets the movement has set for him. The President is considering an order that would grant temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to a sizable number of the approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., a step he could take unilaterally by expanding the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
The overarching question is how many undocumented immigrants he will protect. The White House signaled over the summer that it could extend administrative relief for up to several million undocumented immigrants and their families. By delaying the decision for political reasons, Obama has nudged expectations even higher.
At a bare minimum, said Pablo Alvarado, executive director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the immigration orders should include an extension of work authorization to everyone who would qualify under the Senate bill and an end to the Secure Communities program and policies that criminalize immigrants. The President has the legal authority, the moral obligation, and the political capital required to take these important steps. The Senate bill, which passed the upper chamber in June 2013 with 68 votes, would provide relief to some 8 million undocumented immigrants.
This is an action that frankly we believe the President should have taken months ago, said Marielena Hincapi, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center. The president has broad legal authority to do this. Its really about his political will.
But there is growing concern that Obama may lack the will to make a bold unilateral move, especially if his party suffers sweeping losses in elections that were, in many ways, a referendum on his policies. Two anonymous sources cited by Buzzfeed, which reported Tuesday that final recommendations were being sent to Obama, pegged the number in the low seven figures. And even some of Obamas allies worry that a President with a mixed record on immigration and an instinct for the middle ground will disappoint the Hispanic community once again.
Were definitely concerned, says a Democratic source involved with the immigration-reform push, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid angering the White House. The history of this presidency is one of trying to accommodate the opposition.
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Immigration Advocates Warn Obama Not to Think Small
Only a small minority of Latino voters report that they are angry over President Obamas decision this year to delay executive action on immigration reform, but disappointment over his deportation policies is widespread, and Democrats have suffered a decline in support from a crucial voting bloc, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center.
Separately, a survey of Americans younger than 30 also shows a decline in support for Democrats. The poll by the Harvard Institute of Politics showed Obamas approval rating among members of the millennial generation had dropped to 43%, with 53% disapproving. That group's level of support for Obama was down from 47% this spring, though still slightly greater than a year ago.
The poll of younger Americans also showed a sharpening division along racial lines, with whites disapproving of Obama by 31% to 65%, African Americans still overwhelmingly approving of the president (78% approve, 17% disapprove) and Latinos almost evenly divided.
Taken together, the two surveys show stresses on the coalition of voters who elected Obama. They come as the country approaches a midterm election in which the presidents party is likely to suffer significant losses in part because of an expected mediocre turnout by key parts of that coalition.
The Pew survey showed that Latino support for Democrats has receded on a couple of key measures, including party identification and a question about which party better represents their interests. But the decline was modest, noticeable mostly by contrast with very high levels of support achieved in 2012, when Obama won reelection.
Just over six in 10 Latinos said they either consider themselves Democrats or lean in that direction, down from 70% in 2012 but still at a historically high level.
One in four Latinos said they identify with or lean toward the Republicans, up slightly over the past few years and back to the level of support during the George W. Bush presidency.
Asked which party has more concern for Latinos, half named the Democrats and 10% said Republicans, with just over one-third saying they saw no difference. On that question, too, the Democrats standing has dropped from a high point reached during Obamas reelection, but only to the level that prevailed during most of his first term. The Republican standing has not changed significantly.
One factor buoying Democrats is that Latinos remain more positive about the nations direction than are Americans overall. Just over four in 10 Latino voters said they are satisfied with the way things in the country are going, compared with fewer than three in 10 voters overall. Among foreign-born Latinos, more than half said they were satisfied with the countrys direction.
But deportations remain a significant point of tension.
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Few Latinos 'angry' over Obama immigration policy, but support slips
Luis Valenzuela, left, Carla Castedo, center, and Ricardo Martinez, right, prepare for an evening of canvassing in heavily-Latino neighborhoods on Wednesday, Oct. 15. These workers will provide information to voters about their polling places and voting deadlines in an effort in increase voter turnout. Photo by Katie A. Kuntz/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News
Editors Note: Nearly 25 million Latinos are eligible to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, making them an increasingly courted voter bloc for both Democrats and Republicans. According to the Pew Research Center, Latinos could have an especially strong impact on races in Colorado. But even in the most contentious races there, candidates are largely staying silent on immigration reform, a motivating political issue to many Latinos, says Katie Kuntz of Rocky Mountain PBS I-News
Latinos account for about 20 percent of Colorados population and about 14 percent of its voters. The group presents a major player in the states most contentious elections.
But while Republicans and Democrats alike are working hard to attract these voters, neither party is pushing the issue that is highly important to many of them: immigration reform.
Do you hear anyone talking about immigration reform anymore? asked Floyd Ciruli, Denver pollster and political analyst. They are targeting things talking directly to Hispanic voters, but there is too much downside on both sides to bring it into the general conversation.
For Republicans, reaching out to Latino voters has become more prominent in Colorado than before. Unlike election years past, theres not a lot of railing for or against immigration reform, much less talk of stronger deportation policies.
I wouldnt say immigration is taking a back seat, but you cant paint the picture that its the only issue for the Hispanic community, said Ali Prado, the Hispanic press secretary for the Republican National Party. Its an important issue, but the number one issue is the economy, and then education.
But Latino voters and advocates question that stance.
I think there is maybe a disconnect because, yes, the economy and education are big issues, but immigration is something we talk to voters about every single day, said Carla Castedo, Colorado director of Mi Familia Vota, a national, non-partisan get-out-the-vote organization. Most Latino voters are impacted personally by immigration, whether they personally are immigrants or its a family member or a friend.
Leo Murrieta, the national field director for Mi Familia Vota, visits the organizations Denver office on Oct. 15, 2014to help prepare and encourage those canvassing door-to-door. The non-partisan Mi Familia Vota is hoping to increase turnout among Latino voters this election. Photo by Katie A. Kuntz/Rocky Mountain PBS I-News
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Both parties duck immigration reform in attempts to attract Colorados Latino voters
On Oct. 3, President Obama reaffirmed his position to act unilaterally on the issue of immigration reform, announcing that he would issue executive orders over the next few months. As much as these orders may bother conservative Republicans, Obamas position makes significant investments in greater border security.
According to a March New York Times article, the administrations plan is to cover 900 miles or 45 percent of the border by 2016 with a dense array of agents. The other 55 percent will be covered with persistent surveillance, consisting of drones.
These exorbitant measures are not only unnecessary, but insulting. The concept of America rests upon immigration. Though that immigration did lead to the persecution and genocide of many indigenous peoples in North America, foundationally it is a North American ethos to accept immigrants. Therefore, the stringent restrictions that exist in the current immigration system create the environment the Puritans were trying to flee. They are inherently exclusive.
What is even more frightening is the opposition on the right. As someone who generally leans conservative, I find that their opposition seems like ideological hypocrisy. It is a fascinating paradigm that the staunchest defenders of freedom are the biggest critics of the immigration bill.
For instance, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-T.X., a whole-hearted critic and opponent of immigration reform, responded to Sen. John McCains, R-A.Z., description of him as a wacko bird by saying: If standing for liberty and standing for the Constitution make you a wacko bird, then you can count me a very proud wacko bird. Thus, Cruz self-identifies as standing for liberty. Is not the freedom of movement one of the purest forms of freedom?
To me, this is a clear example of the ideological hypocrisy that plagues the Republican Party. Many of its members, especially Cruz, are self-described defenders of freedom, yet on the issue of immigration, they do not believe in freedom at all. But how are any of the current immigrants different from our relatives who came to North America in pursuit of opportunity and freedom?
The answer is that they are not.
The Republican Partys defense of greater border security is based on the belief that people should enter the country through legal immigration means. The 2012 party platform states that in an age of terrorism, drug cartels, human trafficking and criminal gangs, the presence of millions of unidentified workers poses grave risks to the safety and sovereignty of the United States. This platform may sound reasonable, but it is not.
Underpinning the platforms viewpoint on immigration is the belief that undocumented immigrants are inherently involved in illegal and morally questionable decisions. This viewpoint is empirically false. According to ThinkProgress, a progressive media source, native-born Americans are more likely to commit crimes than immigrants. According to ThinkProgress, First-generation immigrants commit crime at a lower rate than second-generation and native-born, non-Hispanic whites.
Therefore, it is my belief that underpinning the Republicans viewpoint on immigration is a fallacious belief that Hispanic immigrants are more likely to be involved in criminal acts than their white, American peers. Therefore, the sentiment, raised time and time again, stems from xenophobia more than actual consistent policy.
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Rotenberg 17: Immigration reform not just a liberal issue