Record Turnout for Latino Population in US Presidential Elections

The Latino voters will decide greatly the US presidential election race, said Enrique A. Chaurand, Deputy Vice President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). The NCLR, an organization based in Washington, is concerned with the affairs of American Latinos in the United States. 
Talking to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the NCLR Deputy Vice President said that the number of Hispanic (Latino) voters on electoral register lists is 13.2 million, expecting that 13.1 million of them will cast their votes. Many of which will exercise the right to vote for the first time due to the enormous demographic growth witnessed by Americans of Hispanic origin, he said. 
         Chaurand said the US Hispanic population represents the largest minority in the United States, and every year one million US citizens of Hispanic origin reach the age of 18, a voting age that qualifies a person to vote in the general election, according to the US Constitution. One in four students in American schools are Latinos and one in three Latinos joins the labor market every year, 76% of whom are US citizens, he added. 
       The Latino voters will have "great importance" in deciding the 45th presidential elections in the United States, the NCLR Deputy Vice President said, adding that this will be a similar scenario of the 2012 presidential elections when 75% of Latinos vote in favor of President Barack Obama as well as in the 1996 presidential elections when 72% vote in favor of President Bill Clinton. 
There are positive indications of a record in terms of voting percentage, he said, adding that it was noted a large turnout of Latino voters during the early voting period, and a turnout increase of 99% compared to the 2012 presidential elections. 
     The NCLR Deputy Vice President pointed out that the state of Florida has a large number of voters from Cuban origin who are known for their traditional support for the Republican Party, while central Florida's population are in favor of the Democratic Party. Chaurand noted the growing number in North Carolina and in a number of swing states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada taking into account that the descendants of Hispanics represent 30 percent of the population of Arizona. 
       Regarding Hispanic likely voters, Chaurand said that they support the Democratic party's candidate Hillary Clinton because of her policy on the reform of immigration laws and her intention to immigration reform push before Congress. 
In this context, the NCLR Deputy Vice President condemned the election campaign promise by the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to deport thousands of illegal immigrants from the United States and denounced building a border wall with Mexico with the Mexican government paying full cost in case he was elected president of the United States. 
          He pointed out that the Council is interested in reforming immigration laws, granting access to citizenship for immigrants living in the country illegally and addressing forced deportation, adding that the Council supports immigration reform plan to strengthen the effective legal channels for those seeking to enter the United States in a way that promotes their full integration in the American society and protects the border. He hoped that the comprehensive reform of immigration law and President Obama's plan to prevent the deportation of an estimated 11 million of illegal immigrants be approved. 
In his statement to Qatar News Agency (QNA), Chaurand condemned mass deportation strategy threatened by Trump, if elected, as it will lead to budget deficit and revenue growth reduction as well as will lead to widespread violations of civil rights and the uprooting of millions of Americans citizens from the land where they were born. 

        He said that Americans of Hispanic origin are working hard to achieve the overall growth of the United States, and are one of the most defenders of the "American dream". For decades, they have succeeded to integrate into the American society, he said. 

        "Emanating from our belief that the United States is a nation of immigrants, we acknowledge the importance of President Obama's plan, which aims to include four million people in a program to protect them from forcible deportation and grant them work permits, provided that they have lived in the United States illegally since at least 2010 and have no criminal record and have children of US citizens."         Chaurand said that that Council has been working since its inception to support and strengthen civil and social and political rights for Americans of Hispanic origin especially with regard to education and health care and the provision of legal support, along with working to defend a number of relvent immigration issues. 

He pointed out that President of the Executive Council Janet Morgea had described Trump campaign as "mired in rhetoric rather than reality", and criticized his proposed immigration policy to build a border fence, impose mass deportations and tear families through harsh immigration laws. 

         Speaking about the aspirations of American Latinos, he said that they aspire to see further social and economic development and access to equal opportunities in education, employment, health care and insurance. 

         Chaurand underlined the importance of the contribution of minorities, including Muslims, in building the United States, to working tirelessly towards the promotion of diversity and social and cultural integration away from any form of exclusion of the other. 

Since 1968, the National Council of La Raza has remained a trusted, nonpartisan voice for Latinos. This is the community we serve through our research, policy analysis, and state and national advocacy efforts, as well as in our programs work in communities nationwide.

Source: QNA