The findings of a poll conducted earlier this summer show that the immigration issue is the primary concern among Latinos, and the majority of them will vote only for those candidates who back immigration reform.
The poll was conducted by LatinoMetrics during the last week of May and the first two weeks of June, 2010. It was co-sponsored by the Hispanic Federation and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). A pool of 504 Latinos was carefully chosen in order to achieve a fully representative sample of the U.S. Hispanic community. It was further stratified by region, gender, age, foreign-born status and other factors.
As recently as December 2009, jobs and the economy were the primary issue among Latinos. That all changed with Arizona’s controversial S.B. 1070. The poll revealed that Latinos—whether Republican, Democrat or Independents and undecided voters—stand unified in favor of immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship and oppose Arizona’s S.B. 1070.
“This new poll demonstrates a tremendous shift in the importance that immigration has become for a wide cross-section of the Latino population of the United States,” Brent Wilkes, LULAC’s executive director, said in a statement. “Latinos have taken offense to the way immigrants have been demonized by politicians and political interest groups and are prepared to vote accordingly.”
Results showed that 1 in 4 Hispanic Americans polled who aren’t already registered to vote intend to register before November. Eighty percent of registered Latino voters surveyed said they plan to vote in the midterm election and two-thirds of them will back candidates who support immigration reform.
Another finding was that twenty percent of Latinos polled said they would be less likely to report a major crime, even a brutal assault, if legislation such as Arizona’s SB 1070 was to be adopted in their state. Nearly half of the Latinos polled in Arizona reported decreased attendance at community festivals and street fairs. Under Arizona’s S.B. 1070, police would be required to investigate an individual’s immigration status under reasonable suspicion in the course of investigating another crime.
“We’ve never seen this before,” said Arturo Vargas, the executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund (NALEO). “Latinos are feeling less optimistic and more under siege.”
During June NALEO also conducted their own poll of 1,600 Latinos in four states. The results of that poll are set to be released next week. Similarly, it found immigration a top concern for Latinos
lies, lies , lies dont speak for me i am going to vote republican and i am in agreement with the sb1070 look where you conduct your polls probably in east LA! SI NO LES GUSTA LA SB1070 QUE SE LARGEN!
We can not assume that all Hispanics will not vote . This is certainly an opposition to the politics of the nation. If you feel so strongly about immigration issues then send back all those that came here illegally iregardless of where they came from. If the cubans and other countries have the right to stay in this country when they touch us soil then should those that migrat from MEXICO.