Two-thirds of Arizona Latinos have family or friends who are Undocumented Immigrants

From Phoenix Business Journal 6/28/12 More than two out of three Arizona Hispanics have a family member or someone close to them that is an illegal immigrant, and another 37 percent say they know an undocumented person who has been detained for faces deportation. 

Those numbers are from a new poll of Latinos in five states by Latino Decisions and America's Voice. The poll also shows that 68 percent of Arizona Latinos said they have a family member or know a friend or coworker who is an illegal immigrant. Seventy four percent of Hispanics in Nevada say they have family, friends or coworkers who are illegally in the U.S., with 41 percent also knowing someone facing deportation or detention.

The poll found in Arizona that two-thirds of Hispanics were worried the U.S. Supreme Court's upholding of part of Senate Bill 1070 will give the state an anti-Hispanic, anti-immigrant climate. 

Roughly the same percentage said they were more enthusiastic about voting for President Barack Obama this November after his recent executive order granting immunity to young illegal immigrants brought into the country by their families at a young age. Seventy-four percent of Arizona Hispanics plan on voting for Obama in November and just 18 percent for Mitt Romney. The rest are undecided. 

The five-state poll included Nevada, Arizona, Florida, Colorado and Virginia, with Obama leading 63 percent to 27 percent in those states.

Getting out the Latino vote in Arizona may no longer be much of a mystery

From Tucson Weekly 6/28/12. U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva and his two Democratic primary challengers, Amanda Aguirre and Juan Manuel Arreguin, all said that reaching Latino voters is an important part of their campaigns-but they don't give specifics on how they plan to do that, beyond canvassing neighborhoods.

Latino voters are characterized as a sleeping giant. Every election season, capturing the Latino vote is treated like a mystery or a science. So if this group-which tends to vote at a lower rate than others-is so important, what is being done to increase Latino voter turnout for the August primary and the November general election in Arizona? 

Arizona Democratic Party executive director Luis Heredia said the party is working at the county level through volunteer development and communications specifically aimed at Latino families.

In a May essay at LAProgressive.com by Rudy Acuña, the Chicano-studies teacher and author delivered a critique of the Arizona Democratic Party, as well as its leaders and elected officials. Looking at the number of Latinos in Arizona and the number of Latinos elected, "You would think that there would be concern on the part of the national Democratic Party, and that it would spearhead a restructuring of the Arizona Democratic Party to reflect its presumed progressive agenda versus that of Tea Party Republicans." 

Acuña wrote that the state party's strategy is to attract a conservative base, which contributes to the state's climate of racism and political apathy, and ignores the interests of Mexican-American voters.

Heredia said the effectiveness of the party's outreach to Latino voters depends on how much money it raises. He said the party is prepared to make a significant investment to reach Latino voters. When asked specifically how much, he would only say "significant."

The state party is focused on President Barack Obama's re-election campaign and Richard Carmona's U.S. Senate race, but a third priority is to "maximize Latino support in congressional districts and state legislative races," Heredia said.