Hispanic leaders from 30 different Latino advocacy groups put out their public policy agenda ahead of the national conventions. As our Washington, D.C. bureau reporter Erin Billups reports, they say the Latino vote will hinge on which party embraces their priorities.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda has been in existence since 1991, releasing their policy agenda every four years. They say this cycle is different. The growing Latino community angry.
"It's enough. All these attacks on the Latino community. It's not good for the community and it's not good for the nation," said NHLA Chair Hector Sanchez.
Leaders from some of the 30 organizations that composed the agenda point to new voter identification legislation, which they say suppresses Latino voter turnout and denounce immigration laws like Arizona's that may lead to racial profiling.
Sanchez said, "The extremism that the Republican Party is reaching on a number of issues particularly on immigration are totally unacceptable."
The group, though, says it’s non-partisan and also criticize the Obama Administration.
"We were very disappointed that the promise of immigration reform didn't come true," Sanchez said.
On top of immigration issues, the agenda lists Latino concerns dealing with economic security, education, government accountability, civil rights and health. NHLA plans to meet with leaders at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, looking for commitments from both.
"This puts those parties and those future elected officials on notice," said James Ferg, Cadima, MALDEF.
From Presidential candidates on down, they say each will be judged according to their policy standards and the Latino community mobilized in response to support those who make the grade.
"We're pushing to make sure that we have a huge turnout of Latino voters on November 6th and beyond that, obviously continue that momentum moving forward because ultimately, at the end of the day, that's what moves the needle one way or the other," said Jose Calderon of the Hispanic Federation.