05/10/13 Virtually all of the GOP’s top-tier potential candidates for president in 2016—Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul—are supporters of immigration reform.  For whoever runs, Florida will be a crucial, must-win state.  And Florida supports immigration reform too. A new poll released this week by the Public Policy Institute, and commissioned by the Florida [...]
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03/10/13 The past seven days have been quite a ride for Jeb Bush. He began the week by recanting his earlier support for immigration reform with  a path to citizenship.  That’s because Jeb wrote a book last year when it didn’t seem like a path to citizenship would be the mainstream Republican position. But, the 2012 [...]
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03/06/13 Editor’s note: This column by Maribel Hastings was originally published in Spanish at La Opinion and Huffington Post Voces. The Spanish language version can be viewed here. WASHINGTON, DC – In an interview on NBC’s Today Show Monday, former Florida governor Jeb Bush said it’s premature to declare whether he’ll aspire to the Republican presidential nomination [...]
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03/05/13 One of the most interesting angles in the Jeb Bush reversal on citizenship this week has been his fellow Floridian (and 2016 rival) Sen. Marco Rubio’s response.  Rubio predicted to Talking Points Memo today that Bush would eventually swing back to his traditional support for citizenship, given his long history in favor.  Rubio said that [...]
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03/05/13 It is safe to say that Day One of the immigration book media tour for former Florida Governor Jeb Bush did not go exactly as planned.  Numerous observers condemned Gov. Bush for walking back on his past support for citizenship and called it a politically damaging flip-flop. Today, Gov. Bush said he would support an earned citizenship provision, provided that [...]
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12/17/12 As the Tampa Bay Times reports, two Florida Republicans, Senator Marco Rubio and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, are engaging in the upcoming debate over immigration reform. They have different approaches–Rubio’s for an incremental strategy while Diaz-Balart wants a comprehensive approach.  From the Tampa Bay Times: Immigration — one of the most complex and divisive issues facing [...]
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12/07/12 Florida GOP Senator Marco Rubio has been talking about immigration lately. But, he’s not making himself very clear. This week, he told an inside-the-beltway breakfast hosted by Politico that he we need comprehensive reform, but can’t do it comprehensively — or something like that. The headline of the post at the San Francisco Chronicle sums [...]
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11/01/12 Yesterday, America’s Voice released an updated analysis of key races where Latino voters and immigration will play a key role. Here’s the information on the the key Senate race in Florida: Candidates: Rep. Connie Mack IV (R) v. Sen. Bill Nelson (D), incumbent Rating: Lean Democratic (Cook Political Report, 10/4/12) Latino Eligible Voter Population: 17.7% (Teixeira/Frey) Asian Voting Age [...]
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10/29/12 Earlier today, ImpreMedia/Latino Decisions released its latest tracking poll of the Presidential race, finding that Obama leads Romney by a whopping 73% – 21% margin among Latino voters. Much of the focus is, of course, on the key battleground states, including Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and Virginia, where Latinos comprise key voting blocs. As we’ve reported, a number [...]
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10/10/12 Earlier this week we wrote about Maryland’s Question 4, a voter initiative that must pass in order to secure a special college tuition rate for Maryland’s undocumented immigrant youth. Some Florida students, however, have been fighting against state laws that force them to pay out-of-state tuition—not because they are undocumented, but because their parents are.  [...]
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10/05/12 This week, as a range of national and state polling demonstrates the popularity of pro-immigration reform positions like the DREAMer deferred action program, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made it clear that he would shut down the DREAMer protection program as soon as he got inaugurated.  As immigration is a pivotal issue in 2012 Senate [...]
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10/04/12 Today, panels in the crucial swing states of Florida and Nevada met to discuss the November election, the Latino vote, and the impact of immigration politics.  During the events, Latino Decisions released brand-new polling that gave us insight into what Latino voters in Florida and Nevada are thinking.  Here are some of the key numbers [...]
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10/04/12 In key swing states like Florida and Nevada — and at the national level — Latino and new citizen voters are changing politics.  While they care about the same issues as all Americans, they have a unique and personal connection to the immigration debate that shapes their political views. This afternoon from 5-7 PM EST, [...]
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10/04/12 Today, at a live streamed panel at the University of Miami’s College of Arts and Science’s Gallery, Washington, DC and Florida-based political analysts, immigrant advocates, and community leaders discussed the politics of immigration and the Latino vote and assessed how Latino voters and the immigration issue will shape the Presidential, Senate and House races in Florida and beyond.  [...]
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10/04/12 Today, at a live streamed panel at the Greenspun Auditorium of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Washington, DC and Nevada-based political analysts, advocates, and community leaders discussed how Latino voters and the immigration issue will shape the Presidential, Senate and House races in Nevada and beyond.  There, UNLV Associate Professor David Damore released fresh polling of Latino voters in [...]
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09/11/12 Today, America’s Voice is releasing the second and third installments of our “State Spotlight: Immigration, Latino Voters, and the 2012 Elections” series with analyses of Latino electoral politics in Florida and Arizona.  Today’s fact sheets follow an earlier installment about Nevada, and in the coming weeks America’s Voice will release additional fact sheets highlighting the [...]
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08/27/12 Apparent by its party platform, the reins of the Republican Party’s immigration policy are in the hands of hardliners, led by anti-immigrant legal architect Kris Kobach. Ahead of this week’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, some prominent Republican politicians, Party strategists, and conservative observers spoke out against the GOP’s hardline drift on immigration, recognizing the [...]
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08/06/12 Cross-posted at Latino Decisions and Latino Vote Matters: Florida is rich in electoral votes, party competition, and ethnic diversity, making it one of the most interesting states to watch during presidential elections. Republican Senator Marco Rubio adds yet another compelling element to the state political narrative during this election cycle.  Frequently mentioned as a potential running mate for Governor [...]
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07/30/12 Election 2012 is not for another three months, but already, an existential struggle over state voter ID laws is brewing—one that could help decide who wins the White House and determine who is allowed to participate in American politics. On one side stands groups like Mi Familia Vota and Voto Latino, which are busy registering [...]
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06/13/12 ORLANDO, Florida – If the Obama campaign counts Florida among the states that could swing either way come November 6th, a visit to the central region of the state shows why. The Hispanic voters I interviewed here expressed a lack of enthusiasm with the political process; some are already sure they won’t vote at all, [...]
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06/06/12 ORLANDO, Florida – The group gathered at New Covenant Baptist Church last Thursday night wasn’t large, but it was determined. And the community leaders, faith leaders and activists had reason to celebrate: a federal judge blocked some sections of Florida’s 2011 voter-registration law, HB 1355. The controversial law, signed by Florida’s Republican governor Rick Scott, [...]
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05/07/12 Political analysts agree: Latino voters will be pivotal in numerous 2012 battleground states – and perhaps determine the presidency in the process.  Today, the Orlando Sentinel captures the dynamics at play in Florida, writing: The presidential race could come down to this: To win in November, President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney needs the biggest swing [...]
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04/25/12 Here’s the thing about Marco Rubio: he’s the son of Cuban immigrants, represents the state with the fourth-largest immigrant population in America, constantly bills himself and his background as the embodiment of the American Dream…and yet he seems to have much less sympathy for immigrants who have stories much like his. He’s gotten into trouble before for [...]
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03/30/12 A range of stories today focus on Republican problems with Latino voters. It appears that across the Party GOP leaders are finally recognizing that courting Latino voters in the fall is threatened by an anti-immigrant, anti-Latino brand that has been cemented by the Republican primary.
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03/29/12 The news that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) endorsed Mitt Romney for President has led to another round of pundit speculation about Rubio's vice presidential prospects, which Rubio demurely "rejects." But the chatter continues because some within the GOP apparently think that adding Rubio to the ticket could help the Party recover from its free-fall with Latino voters.
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03/28/12 Earlier this week, The Hill newspaper reported that Senate Republicans, led by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), are pursuing an alternative, stripped down version of the DREAM Act in an attempt to improve the Party's standing with Latino voters.
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03/08/12 Yesterday, Miami-area high school valedictorian Daniela Pelaez and her sister, Dayana, came to Washington to meet with U.S. Representatives and Senators from Florida. The sisters, both of whom would benefit from the DREAM Act, recently won an administrative reprieve from deportation for two years.
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