Economy Remains Latino’s Major Issue Yet Immigration Debate Has Reflected Poorly on Republicans With Obama’s Huge Lead Among Latino Voters

Obama, Romney to woo key Latino vote

AFP

US President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney will openly vie for the key Hispanic vote when they address a major Latino conference in Florida this week. In a historic move, Obama last week suspended the deportations of young illegal immigrants brought to the United States before…

MIAMI — US President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney will openly vie for the key Hispanic vote when they address a major Latino conference in Florida this week.

In a historic move, Obama last week suspended the deportations of young illegal immigrants brought to the United States before the age of 16, who are currently under 30.

The scheme, which applies to people are in school or have graduated from high school, or have served in the military and have not been convicted of a felony, has been largely welcomed by the Latino community.

But Romney has dismissed the move as being driven by politics, although he has dodged questions about whether he would repeal it.

“We have a lot of expectations about how Romney and Obama will address this conference regarding the Latino community. What they say will have a major impact on voters,” said Sylvia Garcia, head of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

Obama’s Huge Lead Among Latino Voters

NALEO is hosting the Orlando conference which will be addressed by Romney on Thursday and Obama on Friday — exactly a week after his move to try to bring some of the nation’s millions of illegal immigrants out of the shadows.
Other top officials to speak include Governor Rick Scott, former governor Jeb Bush, Cuban-born Senator Marco Rubio, who is being widely touted as a possible vice-presidential pick by Romney and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

Hispanic voters are a key voting bloc and voted in droves for Obama when he won the November 2008 elections.

There are 11.5 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, mostly of Hispanic origin, and efforts to deal with their status have foundered over sharp political divisions.

Obama’s decision unveiled on Friday will go some way to enshrining the goals of the DREAM Act, legislation backed by the White House that could lead to young illegal immigrants gaining permanent residency.