Latino groups unite to launch voter registration drive

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‘Buoyed by a surge of political interest among immigrants and youth, nine national Latino organizations Friday announced a joint effort to register as many as 2 million new voters as presidential candidates from both parties vie for their community’s increasingly influential support,’ writes the L.A. Times’ Teresa Watanabe.

‘The $5-million nonpartisan voter registration effort, announced at a national Latino forum in downtown Los Angeles, comes amid an unprecedented campaign by community organizations and Spanish-language media to boost Latino civic participation -- and two new reports showing signs of success.’

‘The U.S. government last week reported that the number of Mexican immigrants who became citizens last year swelled by 50%, with hundreds of thousands more in line to process their naturalization applications.’

‘Community leaders Friday expressed even more excitement about a new study by the Texas-based William C. Velasquez Institute, a nonpartisan public policy and research organization that found more than 1 million Latinos had registered to vote during this primary season, including 500,000 in California and Texas.’

‘John Trasviña, president of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said he wanted to see the next president end immigration raids, put a moratorium on the use of local police in immigration enforcement, and appoint a Homeland Security chief who would suspend immigration raids during the 2010 census to ensure a more accurate count, among other things.’

‘Nativo Lopez, national president of the Mexican American Political Assn., added other issues, including rising income inequality and the disproportionate number of Latinos in the criminal justice system.’

-- Reed Johnson in Mexico City