November 13, 2008
By Marisa Treviño
The importance of the Latino vote is now an irrefutable fact. Not because Barack Obama was able to garner 67 percent of the Latino vote versus Sen. McCain’s 31 percent, but because Latinos turned out in record numbers in key battleground states turning the electoral college tide in Obama’s favor.
Analysts agree that without the Latino voters in these must-win states, Obama’s victory would have been questionable. So what happens now?
Since this is politics, the kind of support Latino voters gave the Democratic Party did come with strings attached. The big question is does that payback come in the form of a key Cabinet position going to a Latino/a or can it be satisfied with the Obama Administration addressing in his first 100 days an issue that was among the top three for Latino voters and one that has soured many against the Republican Party — immigration reform?
There’s no denying that it would be “sweet” to see Bill Richardson assume the position of Secretary of State in the Obama Administration. Yet, from examples of past administrations that have appointed Latinos/as to high positions within their “inner circles,” it’s one thing to have the ear of the President and quite another to have his attention.
So I vote that Obama make immigration reform a priority. Unlike the financial help being afforded Wall Street and debated for the auto industry, which takes a trickle down effect to reach Main Street USA, the Obama Administration can implement a form of help that would immediately relieve countless Latino communities across the nation — put a moratorium on immigration raids.
So far in 2008, the immigration policy of the Bush administration has been responsible for the apprehension and deportation of nearly 350,000 people. Government officials like to say that they are only after the criminals but though a small portion of undocumented immigrants really fit a criminal profile, the vast majority are guilty of only returning to reunite with their families after they’ve been previously deported.
These immigration raids are exacting an emotional and financial toll on the children and spouses left behind in these communities while also creating repercussions for the larger communities.
Two separate economic studies focusing on the fiscal impact of immigrants in Nebraska and Long Island, New York arrived at the same conclusions: the benefits felt from the presence of immigrant residents (studies didn’t account for citizenship status) can be seen in an increase in buying power, job creation and a significant contribution to the local tax base. Their removal from their respective communities negatively impacts those local economies.
Immigration raids also serve to perpetuate a misguided message to the ignorant that it’s OK to hunt for undocumented immigrants. The latest evidence is the senseless murder of Ecuadorian immigrant Marcello Lucero of Long Island who was killed on his way to visit a friend. Seven teenagers, who in their own words, said, “Let's go find some Mexicans to f--- up,” beat and stabbed Lucero to death simply because he was Latino.
This is not a new phenomenon. The FBI’s 2007 Hate Crime Statistics Report revealed that Latinos comprised 62 percent of the victims of hate crimes committed by someone with a racial bias.
Change can’t come fast enough for some Latinos in this country. The only way to start fostering the kind of positive attitudes needed to safeguard Latino lives, while Congress puts immigration reform back on the frontburner, is for Obama to return the favor afforded him on November 4 and take a stand to stop the needless suffering that is threatening the next wave of Latino voters.
Source: Latina Lista
