Presidential Candidates Talk Jobs and Immigration. Nothing on Foreclosure Crisis

on in Civic Engagement

Last night’s second presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney proved to be a highly spirited one in which neither candidate held back. It was a far cry from their first debate, which Mitt Romney is largely credited with having won. The back-and-forth between the two candidates was lively, if not intense, as they each did their best to answer some very good questions from undecided voters.

While the debate did not address every issue important to Latino voters, it did hit on some of the biggest: jobs/the economy and immigration.

A college student from the Adelphi University started things off with a question for Mr. Romney.

After a question about gas prices, the debate moved on to the very controversial issue of taxes. The exchange was revealing, especially for those who have been curious about what credits and loopholes Mr. Romney plans to eliminate..

Our assesment of their answers?

Almost an hour after the debate started, it seemed as though the immigration issue might not come up. With only about 30 minutes left in the program, all we got was a mention of it from President Obama.

And then, it finally came. Lorrain Osario (one of the few people of color in the audience) asked of Mitt Romney: “What do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green card that are currently living here as productive members of society?”

The answer was short, but it did provide some insight.

Mr. Obama was next, and he was quick to point out Mitt Romney’s opposition to the DREAM Act and support for self-deportation and Arizona’s SB 1070.

The moderator, CNN’s Candy Crowley, wanted some clarification about his self-deportation comments, too.

Some reaction to the immigration exchange:

Tweets are great, but watching the immigration portion of the debate is definitely worth your time.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/1KPIQXfXw6A]

The debate ended with a question for the two candidates about the public’s perception of them.

Unfortunately, neither candidate addressed the ongoing home foreclosure crisis, which has put millions of Latinos out of their homes. More than 60% of the Latino community’s wealth has been devastated by this crisis, but neither campaign has had much to say about it. Our supporters, on the other hand, have a lot to say about it, and they want to hear from the two men vying for the position that will be charged with finding solutions to the housing problem.

Just hours before the candidates met in Long Island, the NCLR Home for Good campaign staff and some of our Affiliates delivered to the two campaign headquarters in Chicago and Boston more than 35,000 post cards from concerned voters to remind the candidates that the foreclosure crisis is far from over. We sincerely hope the candidates address this issue in these last few weeks. Millions of Latinos cannot be ignored.

We’re now just under three weeks away from Election Day and there is only one debate left before voters go to the polls to cast their votes. We want you to be part of that number, too, no matter who you support.

If you haven’t registered to vote yet there may still be time to do so. Visit the Ya Es Hora site to find out if you can still register. And, don’t forget to vote on Election Day, November 6!

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Civic Engagement

Latinos are the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the U.S., with 62 million Latinos living in the United States, including 34.5 million eligible Latino voters. Susana Barragán, Policy […]