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August 04, 2007
Immigration And The Hispanic Vote
This morning's panel of choice was on immigration and the Hispanic vote, obviously a particular matter of concern for residents of the Lone Star State. The presenters were Cecilia Munoz, Eliseo Medina of SEIU, Joe Garcia, and Simon Rosenberg moderated.
Cecilia Munoz, vice president of public policy for La Raza, led off sounding the alarm that the Latino and immigrant communities are under attack, and that progressives and Democrats need to stand up for them. Fixing the broken immigration system must be a priority.
Medina continued along the same lines, and debunked many of the myths surrounding undocumented immigrants -- such as, they don't pay taxes, they illegally get Social Security, etc. He echoed the imperative for reforming the current system, and allowing for a viable method of documentation.
Rosenberg took the political angle, noting the explosive growth in Latino population, and, though lagging, voting strength. With an estimated 4-5 million voting Americans who speak Spanish as their first language, he stressed how urgent it is for progressives and Democrats to make the Latino vote a priority. Six states -- New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada & Florida among them, are in the swing category and have large Latino populations. Rosenberg's point that seizing these states would easily clinch the 2008 presidential election, was well taken by the audience. He also challenged the online community to stand up and be counted on the immigration issue, and lamented its relative absence from the immigration bill debate earlier in the year.
Presidentials coming up!
Posted by houtopia at August 4, 2007 11:30 AM