Latinos compiling a candidate list

Energized by recent protests that drew thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters to downtown Salt Lake City to call for legal status, some community leaders are now turning to voter education.

Tony Yapias of Proyecto Latino de Utah is among those working on a list of candidates who support comprehensive immigration reform — and a hit list of opposing candidates who don't.

Yapias said the lists are still being compiled and should be made available this week. He said candidates who have openly supported documented and undocumented immigrants will get an endorsement. Those who haven't will not.

Political observers question how much impact the lists could have, given historically low Latino voter turnout.

Many aren't eligible to vote because they are too young or aren't citizens. Among Utah Hispanics who are eligible, only 40 percent voted in the last presidential election, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.

"I recognize totally that we Latinos don't have voting power," Yapias said. "If we enlist our friends, our neighbors, our church members, those who are citizens and those who can vote, that's where we'll really have power."

Brigham Young University political scientist Quin Monson doubts that the lists would make a difference for many voters in this election, in large part because many of those most concerned about immigration can't vote, either because they're too young or aren't citizens.

"In the short term they aren't going to matter much in elections," Monson said. "Twenty years from now, they're going to be pretty important. It's something parties need to think about carefully."

Longtime community activist Archie Archuleta, who chairs the Utah Hispanic Democratic Caucus, said immigration is increasingly becoming an issue for voters.

"Registered voters vote particularly on education, wages, jobs and health care, but immigration will be in there," he said.

Anti-illegal immigration activist Alex Segura disagreed, saying that many of the youths who have been protesting against hard-line immigration measures will likely change their minds.

"I think they'll assimilate into the culture and realize what they have," Segura said. "Once they see the culture here turning in the direction of Mexico . . . , they'll attempt to stop it, because they don't want it."