Obama immigration stance locks in Hispanic support

Obama immigration stance locks in Hispanic support
By Nicholas Riccardi


LAS VEGAS (AP) — Elizabeth Alvisar is exactly the sort of voter Mitt Romney needs.

A victim of the brutal economy in this swing state, the 30-year-old tax preparer has been out of work for months. She’s a foe of abortion and gay marriage, and was naturally drawn to the Republican ticket.

But Alvisar has switched her support to President Barack Obama now.

“It’s just because of the Dream Act,” she said, referring to the president’s August executive order that allows people brought into the country illegally as children to avoid deportation if they graduate high school or join the military. “I have a lot of friends who’ve taken advantage of that opportunity.”

In the heavily Hispanic neighborhood where Alvisar lives, unemployment is high and home values are down. But Obama’s immigration stance, and especially his executive order, has locked in support from a fast-growing demographic group that has been trending sharply Democratic in the wake of increasingly hard-line Republican positions on immigration.

Obama’s campaign is counting on Hispanics providing the margin of victory not just in Nevada, but also in other swing states such as Colorado, Iowa, Virginia and North Carolina

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http://www.salon.com/2012/10/21/obama_immigration_stance_locks_in_hispanic_support/