Nearly all Latinos surveyed think the hot immigration debate
will propel more Hispanics to vote in November election
Gilroy – Latinos think the massive marches and intense debate surrounding illegal immigration will spur more members of their politically apathetic community to head to the polls this November, according to a recent Pew Hispanic Center survey examining the immigration clash.
Of the 2,000 Hispanics who participated in the month long survey, 75 percent said the current controversy over immigration policy will propel more Latinos to exercise their right to vote and 63 percent agree that the protests marked the beginning of a lasting social movement.
That nationwide sentiment is mirrored by local Latinos.
“Latino leaders used this immigration debate to galvanize the Latino vote,” said Javier Aguirre, a senior policy aide for Santa Clara County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado and Gilroy Unified School District board member. “As this immigration debate continues and as a joint House and Senate bill comes out, I think more people will be engaged in the debate.”
Aguirre joined the hundreds who marched in protest of HR 4437, legislation criminalizing illegal immigration, tightening border security and cracking down on employers and individuals who aide illegal immigrants.
The bill was later defeated by the Senate. Locally, the Gilroy streets were filled with students, teens who skipped school to assert their disapproval of the legislation.
If the respondents’ predictions pan out and more Hispanics are standing in the nation’s voting booths this fall, that will signify quite a change for the apolitical community. Nationwide, Latinos cast 6 percent of all votes in the 2004 election, which translates to only 18 percent of all Hispanics.
On the other hand, about half of the white and 39 percent of the black population cast a vote in 2004, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis.
Aguirre, whose parents are both Mexican immigrants, attributes the low voter turn-out to a general mistrust of the government among Latinos. Historically in the country to south changes don’t take place through the electoral process, voting is viewed as useless, he said.
While making a pit stop with his family at the Gilroy Outlets after a long road trip with the family, Ricardo Marenco said he plans to cast a ballot in this election. The sporadic voter – he’s registered but admits to only voting about half of the time – said the immigration debate kicked him into gear.
“‘Cause it’s good to vote but it is more important this time because immigration is a big part of it,” said Marenco who owns the Burlingame-based business High Definition Audio Video. “I do think there’s going to be a lot more (Latino) voters.”
The father of one, with another on the way, also said many of his friends either aren’t registered to vote or don’t vote, have said they intend to vote this year.
Rudy Rodriguez, a member of the Mexican American Community Services El Portal Leadership Academy Charter School advisory committee, agrees with the survey results but the Gilroyan cited a different reason for the apathy: immigrants are uncertain of how the deportation process works and are afraid to register to vote, even after becoming citizens.
Still, Rodriguez thinks the current debate has opened Latinos’ eyes and provided a quick civic lesson that will result in higher voter turn-out.
“But we need to remember that Latino voter participation has increased over the last 10 years, every single year, in varying degrees,” he said.
The survey highlighted Rodriguez’s point, explaining that between 2000 and 2004, the number of Hispanic voters jumped by 1.4 million or 23 percent.
Burgeoning discrimination was another word that often crossed the lips of respondents. More than half of the participants responded with a “yes” when asked if they saw an increase in discrimination as a result of the illegal immigration debate.
While Rodriguez is reluctant to slap on the prejudice label, he has noticed a shift in attitudes in the wake of the row over immigration.”I believe that both locally and nationally it has increased discrimination, for lack of a better word,” he said, explaining that the marches polarized the masses.
But Rodriguez doubts this is a permanent social change, instead calling it a trend that will soon pass.
“I think that after everybody looks at the issue, I think people will realize that we can’t just deport everybody, that’s impossible,” he said.
Heather Bremner covers education for The Dispatch. She can be reached at hb******@gi************.com.
