European Americans, take heed…
Failing to overhaul the nation’s immigration system, currently a backburner issue for Congress and President Barack Obama , could play a pivotal role in key mid-term election races in November, according to a new study on Latino voting patterns.
The report by America’s Voice, which supports comprehensive new immigration policies,says that revising the laws is the defining issue for Latino voters.The report says that progress — or the lack thereof — in revamping immigration laws and regulations could affect as many as 40 congressional races in areas with sizeable Latino populations, including the re-election bids of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D- Nev. , and Sen. John McCain , R- Ariz. , just two years ago his party’s presidential candidate.
“Immigration reform is a litmus test in the Latino community,” Eliseo Medina , the president of the Service Employees International Union , said during a conference call about the study. “To us, this is a policy issue, but it is also an issue about respect.”
[snip]
Since the election, several Latino organizations and leaders haveexpressed frustration with Obama and congressional Democrats for notaggressively pushing a comprehensive immigration bill. The complaintsgrew louder after Obama barely mentioned immigration in his State of the Union address last month.
Latino leaders and groups are similarly frustrated with Republicans. They feel that the GOPis promoting and campaigning on an anti-immigration agenda in hopes ofattracting so-called “tea party” voters who prefer stricter policing ofthe U.S. border to a comprehensive policy, which they consider to beamnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country.