By: Daniel Nardini
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 59 percent of all Latinos do not like U.S. President Barack Obama’s immigration policy. They are especially unhappy with his policy of deporting record numbers of Latinos from the United States. With an average of 400,000 people being deported from the United States every year (97 percent of whom are Latino), many Latinos feel that Obama has not only not kept his word about trying to reform the current immigration system, but that he has betrayed Latinos in general. The number of Latinos being deported currently is greater than the numbers who were deported by previous U.S. President George W. Bush in the last two years of his presidency. Because of this many Latinos are skeptical of Obama and what he may do if elected for a second term.
And yet, when asked who most Latinos would vote for in the upcoming 2012 presidential election, 68 percent stated that they would again pick Obama for president. By comparison, only 23 percent of all Latinos polled said they would pick Republican candidate Mitt Romney for president. Why such a disparity in the numbers of Obama as president compared to that of Obama as candidate? The reason lies in the fact that even though the majority of Latinos do not see Obama as a good choice, they see him as the lesser of two evils compared to any of the Republican candidates. Most Latinos fear that the Republican candidates will either be too right wing or be pulled by their party into taking an extremist position against Latinos, against immigration, and most certainly against the undocumented. Under these circumstances many Latinos feel that they would be better off under an Obama administration.
I am not so sure. Obama is already on record for having deported a record number of people—most of whom are Latino. None of the other candidates have such a record, although almost all of the Republican candidates have stated that they “oppose illegal immigration.” The whole debate seems to have become for many Latinos is, “which is the lesser of two evils?” This is a self-defeating strategy. More Latino civil and human rights activists should be getting out there and bringing up the subject of immigration and how each of the candidates can and will help Latinos, like all Americans, find jobs, cut the national debt, try and make education more affordable, and restore public confidence in government. Latinos make up a key voting bloc in this country, and they should be trying to push the candidates into explaining and debating how they will benefit the Latino communities. Latinos should not be passive about who they get, and should be voting for the candidate that best meets their expectations and not the lesser of two evils.
The Lesser of Two Evils?
By: Daniel Nardini
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 59 percent of all Latinos do not like U.S. President Barack Obama’s immigration policy. They are especially unhappy with his policy of deporting record numbers of Latinos from the United States. With an average of 400,000 people being deported from the United States every year (97 percent of whom are Latino), many Latinos feel that Obama has not only not kept his word about trying to reform the current immigration system, but that he has betrayed Latinos in general. The number of Latinos being deported currently is greater than the numbers who were deported by previous U.S. President George W. Bush in the last two years of his presidency. Because of this many Latinos are skeptical of Obama and what he may do if elected for a second term.
And yet, when asked who most Latinos would vote for in the upcoming 2012 presidential election, 68 percent stated that they would again pick Obama for president. By comparison, only 23 percent of all Latinos polled said they would pick Republican candidate Mitt Romney for president. Why such a disparity in the numbers of Obama as president compared to that of Obama as candidate? The reason lies in the fact that even though the majority of Latinos do not see Obama as a good choice, they see him as the lesser of two evils compared to any of the Republican candidates. Most Latinos fear that the Republican candidates will either be too right wing or be pulled by their party into taking an extremist position against Latinos, against immigration, and most certainly against the undocumented. Under these circumstances many Latinos feel that they would be better off under an Obama administration.
I am not so sure. Obama is already on record for having deported a record number of people—most of whom are Latino. None of the other candidates have such a record, although almost all of the Republican candidates have stated that they “oppose illegal immigration.” The whole debate seems to have become for many Latinos is, “which is the lesser of two evils?” This is a self-defeating strategy. More Latino civil and human rights activists should be getting out there and bringing up the subject of immigration and how each of the candidates can and will help Latinos, like all Americans, find jobs, cut the national debt, try and make education more affordable, and restore public confidence in government. Latinos make up a key voting bloc in this country, and they should be trying to push the candidates into explaining and debating how they will benefit the Latino communities. Latinos should not be passive about who they get, and should be voting for the candidate that best meets their expectations and not the lesser of two evils.