10 Latino politicians to watch in 2013

by Sandra Lilley

Of course we will be watching all Latino politicians as they welcome the new year with a lot on their legislative plates, be it the fiscal cliff or immigration reform. But here is a sample of the diversity of the Latinos who are either newly entering Congress or are coming back – hopefully ready to roll up their sleeves for a lot of work ahead.

Recently elected:
Joaquín Castro (D-TX) - The national spotlight in 2012 was more focused on his twin brother Julián, the Mayor of San Antonio TX and the first Latino keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention. But Joaquín’s recent election to Congress gives him a chance to expand his state legislative agenda (he voted to restore education funds to Texas) and he is already on record saying Congress needs to tackle gun control.

Ted Cruz (R- TX) - The newly-elected Cuban-American Senator from Texas does not shy away from his very conservative social as well as fiscal views, including  privatizing Social Security. While November’s election loss has spurred some Republicans to weigh moving more to the mainstream on some issues, Cruz is not one of them. Reducing the size of government is among his main legislative aims.

Mary Gonzalez (D- El Paso, TX) - The newly-elected state legislator has defied convention by running for office while declaring herself openly gay and a ‘pansexual’ who does not subscribe to gender stereotypes. Gonzalez, who is pursuing a PhD in education, hopes to utilize her background in education and community activism to increase programs and opportunities at the state level.

Michelle Lujan Grisham  (D- NM) - As New Mexico’s former Dept of Health Secretary, Lujan Grisham increased access to school-based health centers, increased women’s reproductive health funding and reduced teen pregnancies, and increased childhood immunization rates. Other areas of expertise were senior citizens’care and exposing elderly abuse, all topics Lujan Grisham plans to continue in the U.S. Congress.

Raul Ruiz  (D -CA) – The son of migrant workers who went on to Harvard Medical School and became an emergency room doctor – only to beat a wealthy Republican incumbent for Congress – the Latino doctor will now have a chance to work on issues which he has said affect patients’ health, such as education, job opportunities and how healthcare dollars are spent.
Current legislators: 

Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) - The majority of Latino voters favor a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, and the Illinois congressman, a longtime advocate of the Dream Act and immigration reform, has said this is the time to get it done.  Gutierrez has been meeting with other legislators “across the aisle” in the hopes of getting a bi-partisan proposal on the table.

Raul Labrador (R-ID) - The new Idaho congressman was born in Puerto Rico, and is a Mormon and a conservative Republican.  As an attorney who handled immigration cases, he is now assigned to the Judiciary Committee and will have a chance to help shape immigration reform. Though he does not favor a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Congressman Luis Gutierrez recently said to Politico Labrador has the background on immigration “and wants to get this done.”

Governor Susana Martinez (R-NM) - In 2012, Martinez carved her own path in the GOP, delivering a passionate, well-received speech at the Republican convention, yet condemning Mitt Romney’s “self-deportation” and “47 percent” comments.  Martinez opposes giving driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants in New Mexico for security reasons, yet said Arizona’s immigration laws were not for her state, showing the different positions Latino legislators have on the issue.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) - Now that Senator John Kerry has been nominated for Secretary of State, Senator Bob Menendez might head the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee (he currently heads a subcommittee).  The Democratic Senator is also one of the leading proponents of immigration reform and will play a key role in the upcoming year.

Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) - 2012 was quite a year for Senator Rubio, as the young legislator introduced presidential candidate Mitt Romney at the Republican National convention and was even in the running as a vice presidential pick.  The Senator penned his autobiography and was the subject of a biography.  But after Latino voters gave Republicans the cold shoulder in November’s elections, many are looking to see if Rubio can “soften” his party’s image as the issues of immigration reform and fiscal challenges require bipartisan solutions in a pretty divided atmosphere.

Opinion: GOP is still not serious about immigration reform

by Stephen A. Nuňo

9:23 am on 11/28/2012

The ability of the GOP to develop a long-term strategy to grow the party appears to be in crisis. The party which was once confident about its own values has grown perpetually concerned about its ability to diversify its appeal.

Over the last decade, the GOP strategy to win elections has been basically this: limit the participation of minorities through onerous registration and voting laws, and do anything possible to obstruct the political integration of the growing Latino population. But if blowhards like Rush Limbaugh were so sure of the universal appeal of their message, immigration reform and voting laws would be a non-issue.

Perhaps it is because their message isn’t so universal, and instead panders to a specific group of voters that they are so concerned about immigration reform. The GOP talking heads love to rail against ethnic pandering, yet when ninety percent of your voters are non-Hispanic white and your most reliable voter base is the retirement community, cultural pandering is exactly what you are doing.

Nowhere is this pandering more evident than when the GOP is forced to confront immigration reform. The fight over immigration reform began with a whimper yesterday when lame duck Senators Kay Bailey Hutchinson of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona presented an alternative to the Dream Act that would offer legal status to undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children, but differed in that it would not provide beneficiaries with a pathway to citizenship.

It is not clear what purpose yesterday’s event served but to reaffirm in the minds of Latinos that the GOP is fundamentally unserious about immigration reform.

The Democrats are expected to lay out their own framework for immigration reform today, which will be broader in scope and address the problems with our immigration system that impacts more than just Dreamers. Given the political climate, the Democrats are right to focus the discussion on comprehensive reform, but it seems that the GOP response will be once again to limit the discussion to variations of the Dream Act.

Which is odd given that just last week, Republicans such as Carlos Gutierrez formed a super-PAC to help shape the immigration debate for the party. Apparently, someone forgot to tell Mrs. Hutchinson and Mr. Kyl. Perhaps Senator Rubio, who is still working on his own version of the Dream Act is coordinating with Mr. Gutierrez.

The fight over whether we have a piecemeal approach or a comprehensive solution will be the center of the battle over immigration reform. President Obama has indicated that he is committed to comprehensive reform that addresses family cohesion, status normalization and the economic needs of the country, but there is no indication by any Republicans that they are committed to this.

The GOP should be called out on this, and since Mr. Gutierrez has volunteered to be the face of Latino outreach for the party, perhaps he should be the one to answer questions about the lack of seriousness coming from his people.

None of this is very encouraging if you are a Republican who views this issue as an important first step in building a party for the future. So far there has been much talk about toning down the assault on Latinos by the GOP, but sending out lame duck Senators to get the ball rolling with proposals that are non-starters is probably not a good way to begin.

If the GOP plans on being serious about winning over Latino voters they should stop promoting half-baked approaches to immigration reform that display an utter lack of confidence in its ability to broaden the party’s appeal. The GOP claims that its values are based on the universality of the founding principles of the country, but if that were true, the stonewalling we’re seeing by Hutchinson and Kyl wouldn’t make such a mockery of that belief.


Stephen A. Nuño, Ph.D., NBC Latino contributor and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. He is currently writing a book on Republican outreach into the Latino Community.

Opinion: Don’t be a fool, vote

by Stephen A. Nuño

7:04 am on 11/05/2012

Some argue that neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney deserve your vote on Tuesday.
But you are a fool if you consciously decide not to vote for president on Tuesday. You are a fool because this is your country and this is a democracy, and to abstain from making a choice for president is cowardly. If you feel you have been disrespected, then you know nothing about politics and you are just being a whiny baby. Grow up.

You are a fool because Latinos have shed blood in every war since the Revolution and the Civil War to protect this right to vote. Honor your ancestors with the courage of taking part in the basic democratic function of determining the pathway for your posterity.

You are a fool because our culture runs through the veins of this country. The oldest European city of this country is Spanish, St. Augustine in Florida, and when it was established, the largest city on the continent was a city built by Latino sweat and blood, Mexico City. Unlike Jamestown, St. Augustine still stands, and Mexico City is still the largest city on the continent. Be proud. This is your land.

You are a fool if you do not vote for president because you are perfectly capable of understanding the differences between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney outside of the narrow issue of immigration, and within the broader scope of what is the best direction for Latinos in general.

You are a fool if you do not vote for president because if you think you are being disrespected now; wait until future candidates discover you are the type to expect the dignity of genuine attention without exhibiting the capacity to make a difficult decision.

You are a fool if you do not vote for president because the direction of our health care policy is a live or die issue for Latinos. Both candidates have staked a clear position on this issue. If you are too consumed by your own narcissistic feelings about respect to act like a grown up, then by all means, self deport to an uninhabited island where you can live in the comfort of your own empty voice.

You are a fool if you do not vote because there are people who would love it if you did not vote, and in fact are working diligently to help you along with your sophomoric little protest. A cottage industry has been built around creating a facade of voter fraud to justify laws that will be used against you at the ballot box. Your right to vote is being fought over at the federal level because of laws that help prevent these assaults, like the Voting Rights Act.

Who do you think appoints the Attorney General who will defend your right to vote?
You are a fool if you do not vote for president because the ability to make decisions about birth control disproportionately affects Latinas, who are poorer and have less access to resources that help them exercise their reproductive rights. Who do you think will appoint the Supreme Court Justices that will defend this right and help ensure that our family and friends have access to safe medical procedures?

You are a fool if you do not vote because our Latino sons and daughters, right now, are risking their lives abroad for our country. They are in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Europe. Latinos are standing guard for you. The least you can do is help decide who their Commander in Chief will be.

Don’t be a fool on Tuesday. Vote for president.


Stephen A. Nuño, Ph.D., NBC Latino contributor and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs at Northern Arizona University. He is currently writing a book on Republican outreach into the Latino Community.