…for the Immigration Policy Center…
Voting data from the 2008 election, released in late July by the U.S. Census Bureau, illustrates the growing electoral power of minority voters. A comparison of Current Population Survey data on voters in the 2004 and 2008 elections reveals the extent to which the ranks of Latino, Asian, and black voters have increased in only four years. This data should serve as a demographic wake-up call to politicians that they cannot ignore the concerns of minority voters without paying a price at the polls. In the case of Latinos and Asians—the majority of whom are immigrants or children of immigrants—one of these concerns is immigration reform. Political candidates should pay particular attention to the rapid rise of Latino and Asian voters in electorally pivotal states such as Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina…
Reforming immigration can boost economy
As Virginia grapples with a budget deficit brought on by the current recession, state and local policymakers would do well to keep in mind that immigrant communities are a potent force for economic recovery. Immigrants, and the adult children of immigrants, already contribute billions of dollars to the state economy each year as workers, taxpayers, consumers and entrepreneurs. These contributions would be even greater if currently unauthorized immigrants had a pathway to legal status, thereby drawing all of them into the tax system. Moreover, newly legalized workers could earn higher wages, further increasing their tax contributions and the amount of money they have to spend in Virginia businesses…
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