NBC Latino reports that while the economy and jobs are always top ranked issues among Latino voters, a recent Latino Decisions poll found that how a candidate is perceived on immigration issues does affect Latino support. The poll found an association between immigration issues and presidential choices. For example, 57 percent of Hispanics said knowing Romney favors SB1070 makes them less likely to vote for him. The number is 63 percent for Spanish-speaking Latinos and 53 percent for English-dominant Latinos. For Obama, it is the opposite as he gains support among Hispanics when they know he opposed SB1070.

However, support for immigration reform, as well as for Dreamers, is not solely a "Latino issue." A Bloomberg June 2012 poll found 64 percent of Americans support "Dreamers," and 84 percent of Americans in a May 2012 National Journal poll expressed support for the Dream Act. This, says immigration advocate Frank Sharry, shows immigration is not just a "Hispanic issue."

http://nbclatino.com/2012/07/23/poll-shows-immigration-does-matter-when-it-comes-to-voters/

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The Houston Chronicle and About.com report that a national poll shows that President Obama has a nearly 50 percentage lead over Republican nominee Mitt Romney and immigration policy is a big reason. The NBC-Wall Street Journal-Telemundo poll found that Obama is the choice of 67 percent of registered Hispanic voters while Republican nominee Mitt Romney is at 23 percent. Obama's margin is even larger in 13 critical battleground states. A computer simulation of the election shows that the Latino vote, if it doesn't shift before November, would propel Obama to victory in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, and Nevada and would keep Obama in a virtual tie in Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Wisconsin. Any increase in turnout among Hispanic voters, or further deterioration of Romney's current position, would move Colorado and Florida into the Democratic column and would put Arizona, a historically Republican state with a flourishingly Latino population, into play. The poll also found that 59 percent of Hispanics approve of President Obama's handling of the economy, 15 points ahead of the president's national approval rating.

http://blog.chron.com/txpotomac/2012/07/obama-opens-up-massive-48-point-lead-among-latino-voters/

http://immigration.about.com/b/2012/07/26/poll-obama-hold-huge-lead-over-romney-among-hispanics.htm

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CBS4 News Miami reports that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who is widely believed to be on Mitt Romney's short list for running mates, said President Obama made a mistake earlier this year when he offered protection to the children of illegal immigrants. In June, the president issued an administrative directive to stop the deportation of young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, after efforts to pass a similar law, the DREAM Act, were repeatedly thwarted by Republicans in Congress. Jindal called the president's actions a "political stunt in an election year." When asked if he would extend the president's order, allowing those children to stay in the country while comprehensive immigration reform was debated in Congress, Jindal said he would not. Jindal, whose parents are from India, was asked if he was worried when members of his party attempt to portray the president as different, foreign, or un-American. Jindal stated that he doesn't question the president's patriotism but rather his policies. "President Obama has had four years-he has done his best but it's not good enough for America," Jindal stated.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/07/29/cbs4-exclusive-jindal-takes-obama-to-task-for-immigration-act/

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Fox News Latino reports that three Senate candidates in the Southwest are urging the Democratic National Convention to adopt the DREAM Act as part of the party platform. Rep. Martin Heinrich, the Democratic nominee for a Senate seat from New Mexico, is leading the effort. Democratic candidate Shelley Berkley in Nevada and a spokesman for Richard Carmona in Arizona said they support the campaign as well. The Democratic-lead House approved the DREAM Act (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) in December 2010 but the Republicans blocked it in the Senate. While the bill has not been approved by the either the House or the Senate since, Obama has supported it as part of his immigration reform efforts. President Obama's "deferred action" directive aimed to stop the deportation of undocumented immigrants who would have qualified for the DREAM Act. It's unclear whether the Democratic Party's platform committee will add support of the bill to the platform.

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/08/09/dream-act-may-become-part-democratic-party-platform/

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3245/text?utm_campaign=govtrack_email_update&utm_source=govtrack/email_update&utm_medium=email

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EFE reports that Republican nominee Mitt Romney's selection of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate is further proof of Republicans' disconnection with the reality of issues facing majority of Hispanics in the United States. Progressive groups are most concerned about Ryan's defense of ant-immigrant measures and a budget proposal he designed that emphasizes cuts to social spending programs such as Medicare and Social Security. According to Fox News Latino, 70 percent of Latinos in the U.S. oppose cuts to Medicare. Ryan, who was boosted politically by the Tea Party movement, defends his work in pursuit of "an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline and job creation." However, activists say that in his 14 years in the House, Ryan has prescribed ideological measures that hurt the middle class and favor the wealthy.

Despite the fact that many immigration advocacy organizations call him an immigration hardliner, Ryan is not entirely popular among those who want tough enforcement, either. Ryan voted to slash hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from border security and immigration enforcement but has supported bills calling for more foreign workers to be admitted to the United States. He has supported E-Verify, an employee-eligibility verification program, for contractors who do business with the government but has consistently opposed driver's licenses and consulate-issued IDs for undocumented immigrants. Maribel Hastings, executive advisor to the pro-reform group America's Voice, pointed out that Ryan, in December 2010, was among those who voted against the DREAM Act to legalize the presence of undocumented students in the United States. An editorial in the Spanish-language daily La Opinion criticized Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as being "partisan extremism" and that "the designation of one of the most radical, polarizing and obstructionist figures in Congress does not help to attract the vote of minorities and moderates." However, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, the most prominent Hispanic Republican, has come out defending Ryan as a "courageous reformer."

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2012/08/13/pro-immigrants-groups-criticize-romney-vp-pick/

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