Officials are urged to enact educational programs and services aimed specifically at Latinos in order to prevent new cases… “Officials need to stop downplaying or ignoring what’s happening among Latinos,” said Oscar De La O, president of Bienestar, a Latino service organization. “We are at the center of the storm.” Even with the United States [...]

Barack Obama unveiled a new Spanish-language radio ad today that will air in battleground states with significant Hispanic populations. The spot highlights Obama’s biography and tries to link it to immigrant values. “Some people have power and connections,” the announcer says. “But most of us have to make our own way through life. This is [...]

Political consultants argue that McCain and Obama must not rely exclusively on Hispanic media to reach Latinos… Both Barack Obama and John McCain are heavily courting Hispanic voters, a key demographic in swing states like Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado. That means a heavy dose of Spanish-language television and radio advertising. But some political [...]

Obama’s stance on Nafta and the Colombia free trade agreement may win him votes in certain areas, but could affect his success in key Latino states such as Florida… There is a fierce behind-the-scenes battle for influence over presumptive Democratic candidate Barack Obama’s Hispanic and Latin American agenda, and some Democratic strategists say that its [...]

U.S. Hispanic activists laid out plans on Friday to register 2 million new Latino voters to boost the clout of the United States’ fastest-growing voter bloc in the November presidential election. Organizers representing more than 100 grass-roots Hispanic organizations from a dozen states met in Los Angeles to fine-tune a drive to get Latinos to [...]

Juan Hernandez, Chief of Hispanic outreach for John McCain is loathed by many conservatives and revered by others for his work on behalf of immigrants. The job of Juan Hernandez is to win support for John McCain, particularly Latino votes. So it may seem odd that the campaign doesn’t want its national director of Hispanic [...]

Activist organizations are overwhelmed by the number of bills being introduced at the state and local levels in states such as Arizona, Oklahoma and New Jersey. In 2005, approximately 300 immigration bills were introduced in state legislatures, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Last year, the number of such bills soared to 1,562. [...]

Sharply disputing a state report, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Thursday said he believes the dropout rate at Los Angeles schools is even worse than the dismal 33 percent estimated by state officials. Villaraigosa, who previously used the dropout-rate issue as leverage to take control of a handful of schools, said the new state figures released [...]

Columnist argues that McCain’s association with the Bush administration and his stance on economic issues is alienating Latinos and pushing them towards Barack Obama… For months now, polls have shown that Latinos are favoring Barack Obama over McCain by margins of 2-1 or better. Latinos, who largely favored Hillary Clinton during the primaries, have apparently [...]

Both John McCain and Barack Obama are attempting to discuss other issues that Latinos care about rather than focus solely on immigration… Three times this month, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama have addressed national Hispanic advocacy and community service organizations. As a result, it is possible to draw a picture of the strategy and [...]