Reuters
February 25, 2016
A
coalition of some of the largest U.S. Latino organizations on Thursday
will lay out a raft of policies that, they say, presidential candidates
and other politicians
must heed to earn the votes of the growing group of voters.
The
National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA), which includes 40 national
and regional groups, will recommend policies on everything from economic
security, education
and comprehensive immigration reform to the environment and health.
For
Latino communities and the politicians seeking their votes - including
candidates in the November 2016 presidential election - the agenda is a
"road map," said Hector
Sanchez, the chairman of the NHLA.
"For the next four years, this is our guide for collaborating with Congress and collaborating with the White House," he added.
The
agenda underscores the growing power of Latinos as a part of the
electorate, as presidential candidates have sought to win over those
voters on the way to the White
House.
Latinos
are among the nation's fastest growing ethnic groups, and, because of
lower voter turnout levels in the past, represent a potential pool of
previously untapped
voters.
The
campaigns of both Democratic contenders for the presidency, for
example, have recently argued over who actually won the Hispanic vote at
last week's Nevada caucus.
While
former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton won the state overall,
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said that entrance polls show he won
Hispanics. The Clinton campaign
disputes those numbers.
The
NHLA's agenda recommends expanding job opportunities, improving
retirement security and increasing support for homeownership.
Under
immigration, the group wants to see comprehensive immigration reform - a
hot button issue in this year's election. The group wants a path to
citizenship, protections
for immigrant workers and family reunification provisions, among other
items.
"The
NHLA also supports addressing the root causes of forced migration and
opposes efforts that call into question the citizenship of persons born
in the United States,"
the group wrote in the 2016 Hispanic Public Policy Agenda.
Billionaire
businessman Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner for his party's
nomination, has repeatedly taken a hard line against illegal
immigration, calling for
the construction of a wall on the border with Mexico.
Trump
angered a number of activists, Latinos and others when, in launching
his campaign last year, he suggested that Mexican immigrants were
rapists and criminals.
But
the criticisms have done little to stop him, with Trump now having won
three of the four earliest nominating contests among Republican
contenders.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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