Clinton and Hispanics

The Democratic forerunner for the presidency of the United States is proposing legalizing undocumented immigrants.

Although they don’t vote, the fate of 11 million people, undocumented immigrants, is presented as one of the decisive factors in the race to determine who will assume the U.S. presidency as of January 2017. And so, Democratic forerunner Hillary Clinton has understood correctly in announcing her intention to legalize these people. In this manner, she is taking on as her own one of Obama’s most emblematic projects, which ran into a wall of Republican opposition in Congress.

With her declaration of intent, Clinton has given ample proof of her knowledge of the political game. On the one hand, it’s the first time her position has been reaffirmed by her own Democratic electorate. According to the polls, some 55 percent of Hispanics would turn their backs in the polls if mass legalization were not supported. On the other hand, it deals a blow to potential Republican rival Jeb Bush, who is married to a Mexican, a Spanish speaker and consistent defender of legislation that favors immigrants. Legalization is favored by a majority of Americans, regardless of which group they belong to.

Hillary Clinton has launched a clear commitment to inclusion. Republicans must now take up the gauntlet, although so far, they have given signs of being entrenched, without understanding that immigration isn’t a secondary issue or a simple matter of partisan bickering between the executive and legislative branches in the United States. Washington’s response to this problem will have implications beyond its borders as well.

The other major takeaway from this announcement is the realization of the importance the Hispanic community will have in the 2016 presidential election: a minority expanding in numbers and influence; this is how Hillary Clinton has understood it.