[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Barron Trump

Big Pharma-Sponsored Vaccinologist Finally Admits mRNA Shots Are Killing Millions

US fiscal year 2025 opens with a staggering $257 billion October deficit$3 trillion annual pace.

His brain has been damaged by American processed food.

Iran willing to resolve doubts about its atomic programme with IAEA

FBI Official Who Oversaw J6 Pipe Bomb Probe Lied About Receiving 'Corrupted' Evidence “We have complete data. Not complete, because there’s some data that was corrupted by one of the providers—not purposely by them, right,” former FBI official Steven D’Antuono told the House Judiciary Committee in a

Musk’s DOGE Takes To X To Crowdsource Talent: ‘80+ Hours Per Week,’

Female Bodybuilders vs. 16 Year Old Farmers

Whoopi Goldberg announces she is joining women in their sex abstinence

Musk secretly met with Iran's UN envoy NYT

D.O.G.E. To have a leaderboard of most wasteful government spending

In Most U.S. Cities, Social Security Payments Last Married Couples Just 19 Days Or Less

Another major healthcare provider files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The Ukrainians have put Tulsi Gabbard on their Myrotvorets kill list

Sen. Johnson unveils photo of Biden-appointed crossdressers after reporters rage over Gaetz nomination

sted on: Nov 15 07:56 'WE WOULD LOSE' War with Iran: Col. Lawrence Wilkerson

Israeli minister says Palestinians should have no voting or land rights

The Case For Radical Changes In US National Defense: Col. Douglas Macgregor

Biden's Regulations Legacy Costs Taxpayers $1.8 Trillion, 800 Times Larger than Trumps

Israeli Soldiers are BUSTED!

Al Sharpton and MSNBC Caught in Major Journalism Ethics Fail in Accepting Kamala's Campaign Money

ABC News in panic mode to balance The View after anti-Trump panel misses voter sentiment

The Latest Biden Tax Bomb

Republicans Pass New Anti-Woke Law: Ohio Senate Bans Transgender from Womens School Bathrooms

Gaetz, who would oversee US prisons as attorney general, thinks El Salvador’s hardline lockups are a model

Francesca Albanese shuts down reporter question on whether Israel has right to exist

Democratic Governors Create Coalition To Push Back Against Trump Policies

BRICS Write-off $20 billion Debt of Africa and Shocked IMF

MASS EXODUS Of Soldiers Rock IDF After BLOODIEST DAY EVER in Lebanon

This Is Why They Wont Be Able To Block Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard, Pete Hegseth And RFK Jr.


Immigration
See other Immigration Articles

Title: Latino influx shakes up Iowa's political picture
Source: Houston Chronicle
URL Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5322009.html
Published: Nov 22, 2007
Author: BENNETT ROTH
Post Date: 2007-11-23 14:43:06 by Dakmar
Keywords: None
Views: 125
Comments: 5

MARSHALLTOWN, IOWA — Colorful piñatas hang from the ceiling, and Spanish-labeled goods fill the shelves of Angel Regalado's grocery in this rural town with a bulging immigrant community.

Many of his customers lived in Mexico a decade ago. But the influx of Latinos to Marshalltown, with its large meatpacking plant, and elsewhere across Iowa has changed the political dynamics in what was one of the most homogeneous states in America.

Now more than 115,000 Hispanics live in Iowa, comprising almost 4 percent of the state's population of 3 million. Though their community is tiny by Texas standards, their numbers increased 37 percent between 2000 and 2005, according to the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs.

The rapid growth of Iowa's Hispanic population, particularly the estimated 55,000 to 85,000 here illegally, has fueled a fierce debate in the state that will hold the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses on Jan. 3.

Democratic converts Amid the polarizing politics of immigration, the issue is cutting both ways.

Regalado said that for the first time since he came here 15 years ago, he will vote in the Democratic caucuses, possibly for Hillary Rodham Clinton. His reason: anti-immigrant rhetoric from the Republicans.

"They don't care about good people," he said of the immigration critics. "Most people come here to work."

A few blocks away, dress-shop owner Sylvia Padilla, a Mexican-American whose first language is Spanish, expressed similar sentiments. "Republicans no good for me," she said.

In the GOP race, presidential contenders have been taking increasingly tough stands against illegal immigrants, favoring, among other things, deportations of convicted felons and hefty fines for employers.

Last week, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who holds a narrow lead in the Iowa polls, attacked his two main rivals — former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee — for supporting sanctuary status for illegal immigrants and tuition breaks for their children.

Rep. Tom Tancredo, a Republican running on an anti-immigration message, recently began broadcasting a commercial suggesting that open-border policies have allowed terrorists to enter the country.

His spot closes with a man in a hooded sweat shirt in a crowded mall. As the screen goes dark, an explosion is heard.

Tough talk by GOP "People here are concerned about stopping the flow of illegal immigrants," said Barb Livingston, chairman of the Republican Party of Marshall County, which includes Marshalltown.

The influx of immigrants has had an impact on schools, health care and taxes, she said.

At the same time, Livingston conceded the issue was complicated and that voter anger was not necessarily directed at the Hispanic immigrants living in their communities.

"They have compassion for people that are here and don't wish them ill," she said.

Democrats are trying to woo Latino voters. Between 15,000 and 18,000 Hispanics are registered to vote in Iowa and are eligible to attend the state's primary caucuses. They could make up a pivotal bloc in the Democratic caucuses, which drew 124,000 voters in 2004.

The major contenders are trying to reach out to them. Clinton has established a Hispanic Leadership Council, comprising 27 community leaders. Barack Obama has assigned a full-time staffer to engage Latino voters. Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and the only Hispanic presidential candidate, has distributed campaign materials in Spanish.

All the Democratic contenders have embraced the broad notion of overhauling the nation's immigration laws. But they're steering away from discussions of details, because they could alienate Hispanic voters. And the issue's fine points could trip up a candidate. It did Clinton and Obama at recent debates when they appeared to equivocate about giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The partisan divide over immigration was underscored in a recent University of Iowa poll of likely caucus-goers The survey found that two-thirds of Republicans rated immigration as either the most important or a highly important issue. Only about one-third of Democrats ranked the issue so high.

The poll, however, found Republicans far from united about how to deal with the issue. Though 30 percent of GOP voters supported the deportation of illegal immigrants, 51 percent preferred allowing them to become citizens if they met certain conditions, such as paying back taxes and learning English. About two-thirds of Democrats backed that option, known as "earned citizenship."

War, health also issues David Redlawsk, a University of Iowa professor who conducted the survey, said there is less incentive for Democrats to talk about immigration because their core supporters are more interested in other issues such as the Iraq war and health care.

Yvonne Dauterive, of Des Moines, who attended the Jefferson-Jackson Democratic dinner there, said there were bigger issues such as the economy. As for illegal immigrants, she said they should be given a chance to succeed so they'll become taxpaying citizens.

But Joe Thill, a Democrat from Marshalltown, opposes what he sees as an influx of illegal immigrants. The 32-year-old electrician blames them for keeping local plant wages down.

"We need to close the borders," Thill said.

'The people are scared'

Such talk is having an effect, according to Ramon Lopez, a grocer in Marshalltown.

His business is off this year, he said, because some families have returned to Mexico rather than face the anti-immigrant rhetoric and endure the possibility of raids by federal agents.

"The people are scared," he said.

Armando Villareal, administrator of the state's Division of Latino Affairs, said Iowa's Hispanics, about 40 percent of whom are first generation, are "getting their political footing" and are taking the attacks on immigration personally.

He said federal roundups of illegal immigrants at plants around the state — including one last year at the meatpacking plant in Marshalltown — have created tensions.

But white Iowa is gradually becoming accustomed to a different ethnic mix, said Villareal, who once worked as a political director for the United Farm Workers Union in San Antonio.

"In Texas, (Hispanics) are deeply ingrained in the culture," he said. "Here they are newcomers."

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: Dakmar (#0)

Join the Ron Paul Revolution

Lod  posted on  2007-11-23   14:54:55 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: Dakmar (#0)

"Republicans no good for me," she said.

If she's looking to get welcomed, she better go back to from where she came.


I've already said too much.

MUDDOG  posted on  2007-11-23   15:22:48 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: MUDDOG (#2)

Doesn't sound like they much wanted her either.

"Most of the trouble in this world has been caused by folks who can't mind their own business, because they have no business of their own to mind, any more than a smallpox virus has." - William S Burroughs

Dakmar  posted on  2007-11-23   15:51:22 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: MUDDOG (#2)

"Republicans no good for me," she said.

Careful honey, Republicans pay you. Democrats just want your votes.

No one cares about you. So let that fantasy go.

You must be registered with the correct party to vote for Ron Paul in states with CLOSED PRIMARIES.

Click Primarily Paul and scroll down to the State by State chart.

Peppa  posted on  2007-11-23   16:30:33 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: Dakmar (#0)

The big question is how many of these illegal immigrants vote.

thoughtomator  posted on  2007-11-23   17:35:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]