Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner, has run on the theme of hate. His divisive rhetoric on immigration and Mexican immigrants have finally motivated the sleeping giant, Latinos are registering to vote and becoming citizens at higher rates. After multiple attacks from the real-estate mogul, Latinos are fighting back. These newly registered citizens are intend on stopping Donald Trump from being the 45th president.
Latino voting bloc has risen from 23 million in 2012 to 28 million in 2016, Barack Obama reaped the benefits of their good will. There will be 58 million Latinos in the U.S. By 2050, which will comprise nearly a quarter of the entire population. We are 28 million eligible voter with nearly half of us being Millennials. Every 30 seconds in the U.S., a Latino turns 18. Moreover, as a natural response to stepped-up initiatives against illegal immigrants, naturalization applications have increased by 11% from fiscal year 2014 to 2015.
The political significance cannot be more understated as a united electorate, Latinos could help the Democratic candidate, which most likely will be Hillary Clinton, carry all of the swing states. Many political observers have been predicting that as a result of Latino population increases in Texas, Arizona, and Georgia they could all be swing states by the year 2024, if not already blue states.
Hector E. Sanchez, Chair of National Latinos Leadership Agenda and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, is one spokesperson who fully appreciates the tsunami of change ahead. When Latinos are outraged, they participate, says Sanchez. “The U.S. Latino population has increased exponentially in the past decade, giving our community an undeniable stake in who wins the presidential election,” he adds. “With 28 million Latinos in America eligible to vote, the candidates who take our policy priorities seriously will reap the benefits of our community’s support.”
Issues that Latinos will be pressing on in these elections will be economic development, environmental policy, criminal justice reform, and, of course, immigration reform. In the coming months we will see how some of these candidates perform in highly Latino populations, eight of the upcoming primaries have Latino populations higher than 10 percent. The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund is projecting a 9% increase in voter turnout in 2016.
It is likely too late for the GOP to stop Trump, but there’s an invaluable lesson here for the mid-terms that needs to be learned right now. And, for Hillary, well, the stakes couldn’t be any higher.
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