Jerod Jaramillo, 12, right, and Jose Villaneda carry signs and march in front of city hall in Farmers Branch, Texas, 2006. AP Photo/LM Otero. All rights reserved.
Immigration policy is considered the holy grail of policies when it comes to attracting Latino voters. Immigration is explicitly mentioned in the post-2012 Republican autopsy report as one of the strategies to increase the party’s base racial and ethnic diversity. Democratic Party candidates mention the issue at every rally where the goal is to attract Latino voters. I argue that Latinos' interest in immigration policy has two elements: social and cultural. These two elements are crucial for understanding how Latinos relate to both major political parties.
The vast majority of Latinos in America are U.S. citizens but many have personal and social connections to immigrants. It may be that they are part of the 36 percent of Latinos who were born outside the United States (a significant portion of whom are naturalized citizens) or that they are part of the 31 percent of Latinos who are children of immigrants. This means that two-thirds of Latinos have immediate connections to immigrants. This does not include the many mixed families of Latinos from different ancestries, citizenship statuses, as well as other relationships such as friendships, acquaintances, and work relationships.
