'Latino America': The Politics Of A Population Boom

Latino America. It is very large and growing very fast. How will it move the country?

Latino America is a huge part of America today.  Seventeen percent of the US population.  By 2050, one in four Americans - Latino.  By 2060, 31 percent, Latino.  Nearly a third.  My guests today, Matt Barreto and Gary Segura, have looked at that big wave and what it will likely mean for American politics, American life.  The country’s been stuck on immigration issues, but inside the borders, Latino Americans are moving in, moving on with American lives.  This hour, On Point:  what America will be.  We’re looking at the ways and views of Latino America.
-- Tom Ashbrook

Matt Barreto, co-founder of the polling and research firm, Latino Decisions. Co-author, with Gary Segura, of the new book "Latino America: How America's Most Dynamic Population is Poised To Transform the Politics of the Nation."  Director of the Center for Democracy and Voting Rights and the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at the University of Washington. Also author of "Ethnic Cues."

Gary Segura, principal and co-founder of the polling and research firm, Latino Decisions. Co-author, with Matt Barreto, of the new book "Latino America: How America's Most Dynamic Population is Poised To Transform the Politics of the Nation." Professor of American politics and chair of Chicano-Latino Studies at Stanford University. Co-author of "Latinos in the New Millennium" and "The Future is Ours." (@GarySegura)

NBC News: Politicos Are Missing The Boat — "In the 2010 midterms, Latino voters tipped the scales in some crucial races, including the re-election of Democratic senators Harry Reid, the Senate's majority leader, and Michael Bennet in Nevada and Colorado, as well as governor's races in California and Colorado. In these four cases, Latino voters mobilized after Republican candidates took harsher stances on immigration, including negative ads perceived by many as anti-Latino."

Salon: Right-wing xenophobes, cowardly Dems and the misunderstood Latino vote — "Here’s a time-saver: Latinos won’t be showing up in force on Election Day this year, and it has less to do than advocates would like to think with Obama or the Democrats’ inaction on immigration."

The Hill: Latino vote poised to flex muscle — "To put it simply for politicos on Capitol Hill, the following question is now more open: Who deserves the Latino and immigrant vote? Take a trip outside of the Beltway and you’ll realize that Latino and immigrant voters are well past the point of frustration — not just because Obama breaks his promises to us over and over again, or that Republicans who briefly flirted with being serious about immigration reform have reverted to appeasing the anti-immigrant, anti-brown extremist elements of their base, but because our movement is winning and the inevitable immigration reform is now painted broadly across America’s political canvas."