Journal of Social Science for Policy Implications

The Hispanic Vote: Immigration Reform on the Shaping of America’s Political Parties
Stephen Balkaran

Abstract
No other time our country’s great history has a debate on immigration divided the nation on its true values and rich tradition in welcoming immigrants with open arms. The recent immigration laws in Arizona, Texas, Alabama and other states have raised several important questions regarding to the role of the federal government’s policies, policy decision making process and more so the role of race in many of the decision making processes.The Hispanic debate goes far beyond the typical immigration debates on loss of jobs, drain on our social system, criminals etc., it has now vested in the “Browning of America.” The economic, political and social clout of current immigrants is far more beneficial to the nation than our media critics point them out to be. The Immigration debate has now generated so many divisions in our society that it has become the “Civil rights debate of 21st century”; never in American history has immigration become such a decisive issue where policymaking and the electoral processgoes hand in hand. Whatever the arguments are, many Americans have suffered from amnesia; they have forgotten their commitment to the watch words of this great nation “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”Immigration reforms laws will have a long term effect on the political process and our political parties; how we court the Hispanic vote is clearly tied to the current immigration reforms laws. How we approach these laws and the Hispanic vote must be a cautious but sensitive approach, after all Hispanic vote will determine the future of the White House.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jsspi.v2n3a2