Republicans need to act on immigration reform

Changing demographics in Wisconsin and the rest of the country are creating a political imperative for Republicans to act on immigration reform. A recent study by the Partnership for a New American Economy found that more than 12 million Hispanic and Asian residents will become eligible to vote by 2020. Additionally, there are currently more than 13.2 million unregistered Hispanic and Asian eligible voters in the United States.

Republicans currently stand at a disadvantage with Hispanic voters. If the 2016 presidential election were held today, nearly twice as many Hispanic voters in swing states would vote for the Democratic candidate over the Republican candidate (52% to 28%). Thus, Republicans must make substantial inroads with Hispanic and Asian voters to prevent the alienation of this rapidly growing voter bloc.

To give you an idea of the size of these groups, Wisconsin’s foreign-born population grew by 72.5% from 2000 to 2010, according to a study by the partnership. As of the 2010 census, Milwaukee County has more than 126,000 Hispanics (13.3% of the population) and more than 32,000 Asian (3.4%) residents.

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