The fight for immigrants — and their votes

The immigration issue has been a decades-long problem that regardless of the measures implemented had not stopped the influx of newcomers, either legally or inappropriately. But the recent attack and defense of immigrants are not related to hope, compassion, employment theft or even based on race. It is merely about political gain from both sides of the aisle.

Many studies have shown Latinos, especially Mexicans, tend to lead their votes to the Democratic Party. In fact, Republican presidential candidates had needed a small fraction of the Hispanic vote to move to Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, while their archrivals conquer the Latino vote.

For Democrats, the arrival of newcomers represent an addition of their base and an increase in their votes and all that comes with it — from more power to an augmented tide of campaign contribution funds. And the contrary occurs on the Republican side.

Let’s just take a look at the Census figures. About half a century ago, many states in the south and some other areas in the country reported zero Hispanic population. Little by little that has evolved with time, just as happened in California a century ago. Almost all states in the south and in the central states of the country witnessed a more than significant increase in their Hispanic population.

The US Census reported in all the following states that at least one of every 30 inhabitants is Latino. As of 2015, the states of Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, North Carolina, Wyoming, Utah and Oklahoma reported at least a 9 percent population of Latinos.

In case you don’t remember all of these states have been Republican for decades. For example, Georgia and North Carolina are home to more Mexicans than New York, while the number of Mexicans living in Kansas or Vice-President Pence’s Indiana than in New Jersey.

A Census map of Hispanic population in American counties shows that the ones with the higher percentages are on the Eastern side of our nation. More surprisingly, from 1990 and 2010, the Hispanic population increased between 7 and 10 times in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

As of today, the Latino vote in Republican or battleground states are enough to decide the fate in elections for school boards, city councils and county supervisorial seats, but one day they will put state legislature, congressional and senate seats, as well as governorships in the hands of Democrats.

This is why I feel Republicans are attempting to deter the immigrant flux with the DACA cancellation, the NAFTA negotiation, the building of the border wall and trying to approve and enact the RAISE Act, a bill that would stop immigration once and for all as aspiring immigrants would be forced to speak English, have masters degrees and bring over $1.3 million in investments to the country in order to receive their so-called “green cards.”

But conservatives must not forget the fate of the Republican Party in California after Prop. 187 — introduced by then-California Gov. Pete Wilson, a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using non-emergency health care, public education, and other services in the State of California — that was approved by voters but turned down in court. Although some changes were implemented after the proposition, conservatives paid a humongous price that has left them on the minority side for years in our state.

I wonder what Republicans are willing to do in order to achieve their goal and what would Democrats do once they become the new majority in the nation?