Immigration Reform News 2014: Deportation Policies Could Turn Young Latinos Away From Democratic Party, Report Suggests
A new report by the nonpartisan research group Latino Decisions proves that the Obama administration's deportation policies are souring young Latino voters on the Democratic Party.
According to the report, the high number of deportations approved by the Obama administration is causing young Latinos to view the Democrats as less welcoming and could potentially turn Latino voters against the Democratic Party.
The Obama administration has deported nearly two-million undocumented immigrants, surpassing the rate of deportations under President George W. Bush. Some immigrants who have been deported in recent years have children in the United States, meaning many families have been separated due to current deportation policies.
Most of the 33 million children in the United States who are born to immigrants are Latino. Latino Decisions surveyed a national sample of 1,050 young, U.S.-born Latinos age 18-31 to investigate the negative implications of current deportation policies on young Latinos.
The survey found that 21 percent of those sampled had a close or distant family member who had been deported, and the number rose to 27 when asked if they knew a friend who has been deported. Forty-six percent also have at least one parent who lived in the U.S. as an undocumented immigrant for a period of time.
The majority of those surveyed agreed that there should be a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and 72 percent thought that policies that negatively affect undocumented immigrants affect them negatively as well.
While young Latinos overwhelmingly support immigration reform, many are not aware of the current deportations figures. Most were unaware that Obama has deported more undocumented immigrants than Bush.
The study informed half of the participants that Obama deported more undocumented immigrants that Bush and did not provide the other half with that information. The survey then asked the participants whether they perceive the Democratic party as welcoming to Latinos.
When given the information, 10 percent less of those surveyed believed that the Democratic Party was welcoming to Latinos. Overall, only nine percent of respondents rated the Republican Party as welcoming to Latinos, as the majority of Republicans are still opposed to immigration reform.
Those who identify as Democrats also found the Democratic Party as less welcoming when presented with the facts. U.S.-born Latinos who are weak partisans can be swayed even more by the Democratic record on deportations.
Therefore, while young Latinos still tend to identify as Democrats, the Obama administration's deportation policies could have long-lasting, negative effects on how young Latinos view the Democratic Party.