Latino voters turned out in high numbers in this year’s election and were decisive in delivering President Obama’s reelection for a second term. A key issue for this rapidly growing segment of the electorate is immigration reform, specifically, the 11 million immigrants without legal status. For months leading up to the election, polling by Latino Decisions has shown that Latino voters care deeply about how the candidates talked about immigration reform, and the President himself acknowledged in Iowa that if he won, it would be because the Republican Party had alienated Latino voters and he has already pledged to pass comprehensive immigration reform in the first year of his second term. With a second-term mandate built on the promise of Latino Voters, immigration reform has moved to the forefront of the political discourse.
Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Sen. Robert Menendez, United States Senator for New Jersey, and pollster Matt Barreto of Latino Decisions, for a discussion on the 2012 election, the Latino vote, and the future of immigration reform. Sen. Menendez is a long-time leader and champion of immigration reform, and Dr. Barreto and Latino Decisions have been at the cutting edge of identifying and surveying Latino voters, accurately predicting the results of races like Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-NV) 2010 victory over Sharron Angle. Sen. Menendez will frame the discussion with opening remarks on the impact of the Latino vote in shaping the political landscape of 113th Congress, and then he will be joined by Dr. Barreto for a conversation moderated by Tom Perriello, President & CEO of the Center for American Progress Action Fund and Counselor to the Center for American Progress.