Issues Most Important to Hispanic Population

What are the issues most important to Hispanics? Immigration, healthcare, education?

The answer might not be what you would think.

{snip}

Immigration ranked just 6th out of the top 7 concerns, behind national security and the environment, but ahead of energy policy.

Here’s why: unemployment in the Latino community is just shy of ten percent, compared to nearly seven percent for whites.

“Latino’s have paid a price, a higher price, than many other groups in terms of the consequences of the current economic crisis.”

With the housing downturn, many Hispanics who first flocked to the construction industry years ago . . . Have since lost their jobs.

“Education is an important issue for many Hispanics because large number of Hispanic families have children in public schools. In fact, about 20 percent of all students in public schools are Hispanic, which is higher than their share in the general population, which is at about 15 percent.”

As for health care, half of the nation’s Hispanics are uninsured, compared to roughly a quarter of whites and a third of African Americans.

{snip}