tags: , , , , , , , , Blog

Roundup: Reaction to Latino Decisions Poll on SB 1070 and the Presidential Election

Share This:

Yesterday’s webinar revealed the results from polling national latino voters, which included negative sentiments toward Arizona’s SB 1070, unenthusiastic feelings about Mitt Romney regarding his views about SB 1070, and more trust in the democratic party when it comes to immigration. Here’s what others in the media had to say about it.

According to Elise Foley of the Huffington Post:

Romney is far behind Obama with Latino voters, and his stances — or lack thereof — on immigration don’t appear to be helping. Though the issue isn’t the top-ranked priority for Latino voters, the poll released Monday showed that it can influence enthusiasm, important to both candidates as they try to draw Hispanics to the polls in November.

Latino voters aren’t very convinced by arguments for SB 1070 — 70 percent said they disagree that the law could make Arizona more safe, while only 27 percent said they think it would make the state less safe, according to the poll. Strong majorities also said they believe the law would make it likely for legal immigrants or U.S. citizen Latinos to be stopped or questioned by police, and may make immigrants less likely to call the police.

According to Rosa Ramirez from the National Journal:

Second-generation Latino immigrants were the group most likely to believe that police would stop or question legal immigrants and U.S. citizens of Hispanic descent, demonstrating that even those who are in the country legally could face discrimination from laws intended to target illegal immigrants, said Matt Barreto, principal of Latino Decisions and associate professor of political science at the University of Washington.

Latino voters appear to be unclear about President Obama and Mitt Romney’s stance on S.B. 1070. When asked what position the presidential candidates took on Arizona’s law, more than half indicated they didn’t know.

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, said that both Obama and Mitt Romney have an opportunity to speak to the Latino community about where they stand on immigration and Arizona’s law.

From Sandra Lilley via NBC Latino:

While the economy and jobs are consistently ranked as the top issues in the minds of Latino voters, a recent Latino Decisions poll, commissioned by the immigration group America’s Voice and the progressive Center for American Progress Action Fund found how a candidate is perceived on immigration issues does affect Latino support – as well as increased or decreased enthusiasm – for the candidate.

November elections are getting closer, and the fight to win the Latino vote is more important now than ever. Immigration has definitely expanded as an issue since 2008, and this poll gives us great insight into what’s to come for immigration reform in the future.