Amazing! A woman's here 40 years and just applies for citizenship a year ago? How exactly did she get it?

Latino voters making their voices heard

January 21, 2008
BY TERESA PUENTE tpuente@suntimes.com
Latinos will play a decisive role this election year, and more of them will vote than ever before.

Latino voters were courted in the Saturday caucuses in Nevada, and they are an important voting bloc at 12 percent of that state's eligible voters and 9 percent of the national voting electorate.

In Illinois, there are more than 700,000 eligible Latino voters, and whom they will vote for is up for grabs.

Among them are people like Carmen Labra Minakata from suburban Chicago. The 62-year-old real estate agent from Montgomery, Ill., will vote for the first time in her life this year.

Her story is typical of many Mexican immigrants. Born in Jalisco, Mexico, she moved to Illinois to work in her brother's restaurant when she was in her 20s. She and her husband raised their family here and always thought they would go back home one day to retire.

But her children grew up here, and they planted roots. So a year ago, she became a U.S. citizen, and she will vote in Illinois' Feb. 5 primary.

"I want my voice to count," said Minakata, who is an undecided voter.

More than 59 percent of Latino voters support Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to a Pew Hispanic Center poll. Many middle-age and older Latinos love the Clintons and recall the economic prosperity of Bill Clinton's presidency.

But that poll was taken before the Iowa caucuses, when Sen. Barack Obama's campaign surged. Obama's message for change may also appeal to the younger Latino voter.

Artemio Arreola, a political organizer in Chicago, says that gap between Clinton and Obama has narrowed.

"I would say they are about even," said Arreola, political director with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

The populist message of former Sen. John Edwards also appeals to Latino voters disappointed that both Obama and Clinton voted to fund a border fence in 2006.

Immigration has become a topic of intense national debate, and several of the Republican candidates are clearly exploiting this issue. This is sure to cost them Latino voters. More than 80 percent of Latino voters rated immigration as a top concern in the Pew survey.

Also in that survey, 23 percent of Latinos identified themselves as Republican. This is down significantly from the 40 percent of the Latino vote that President Bush got in 2004 -- a record for a Republican presidential candidate.

For those who favor immigration reform, there is only one Republican choice -- Sen. John McCain.

"I'm hearing from [Latinos] who say, 'I'm a Democrat, but I like McCain,'" Arreola said.

Minakata said she could vote either Democratic or Republican, but she has one criterion.

"I'm not voting for anybody who doesn't agree to do something for immigrants," she said. "They have to do something to legalize the Hispanics."

Her family is here legally, but she knows people who are not. She said she thinks they should have the same chance that she did to buy a home and achieve the American Dream.

Her husband, Hector Minakata, 58, a factory worker, also will vote for the first time.

He is more concerned about the economic impact of the war in Iraq.

"They could use all those funds for education," he said, noting that his son is still paying off student loans 10 years after he graduated.

Minakata said he isn't merely voting for himself.

"I'm voting for the Hispanics and the minorities," he said.

Many Latino voters like the Minakatas are finally taking steps to ensure their voices will be heard. The United States is their home now, and they deserve to have a say in this country's future.

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