Internet. So homework can just be homework. Along with these other Television Providers giving you the front row seat to democracy. Clarissa martin as the castro joins me now to focus on latino voters in the midterm elections and serves as the latino vote initiativeaking to house, economic wellbeing, and immigration. Also, the policy and we do policy work in those areas including civil rights. We are funded by foundations, corporations, foundations. We work with a lot of corporations. We run programs in which we partner with the federal government. Host you work on polling, pulling latino voters ahead of the midterms. Talk about their priorities this election cycle, what have you found . Guest as part of our work, as a Civil Rights Organization we are committed to a Civil Society in one way we do that is make sure more people are actively engaged. Voting is one of those ways. We have programs to help eligible americans vote and because there are a lot of misconceptions about the hispanic electorate, we also do polling and research to try to list the priorities the community has. This year, we have been doing this for many cycles now. This year, what we have found, not surprisingly, the lingering tragedy in el paso, Climate Change which you were talking about in the previous segment. We have seen a Seismic Shift in some of the priorities for hispanic voters while continuing with some historic concerns that put the economy and number one. For the first time ever, abortion reached the top spot priority. It had never been there. Climate change is actually at number six. Overwhelmingly, Economic Issues are concerned. We are seeing inflation, jobs, Health Care Part of the top five priorities. Host some key states that youve focused on, arizona, california, georgia, nevada, colorado and texas. Why those states . Guest usually unidos has long routes in arizona, california, texas and florida. Those states combined make up half of the latino population in the United States. We do realize that this election season and a lot of reporters are following what is happening in those states. Again, given the conceptions about how latino voters are looking at the issues we make a point to look at it nationally but provide why it pertains to voters in that state. Why overall climate is number six in colorado and florida it is higher in it reach the top five priorities. Host in another poll from nbc news, before november, democrats lead republicans among latino voters. That democratic advantage has declined from previous election cycles. Nbc news and telemundo coming together for that poll, that 20 point lead used to be a 40 point lead. Guest we have been documenting this, right now, there are a couple of things that are true and some that are being exaggerated. One of them is that historically, latinos have supported democrats, one third supporting republicans. The Republican Party has lost some ground but it has been regaining in the past couple of cycles. Democrats are holding to their two thirds but they could have capitalized a lot more and solidified the support they have seen in the past. One thing is true, both parties are underwater compared to peak levels of support and that speaks to another factor and that is that we are still continuing to see lackluster levels of outreach from candidates to these voters, even about about states. Host what is that mean for you . Do you do endorsements for specific candidates . What are these polling numbers tell you about what this constituency wants to support . Guest we are not partisan so i often say that our candidate is the voter. We want to make sure that voters have the avenues to register to vote. Right now, our median age is 27. The u. S. Overall is 38 years old. That means a lot of our folks are comingofage and are not yet registered. We are nearly one one million eligible Voters Register and make sure they have the information that candidates are telling them what they stand for and win their support. We make sure that people have the information they need and reporters and other folks who cover the election have Accurate Information about where folks stand. Host we are talking about campaign 2022 in the latino vote. If you want to join the conversation with clarissa martinezdecastro from unidosus. The phone lines are split as usual as republicans on 202 7488000, democrats 202 7488001, a special line for latino voters 202 7488008. Clarissa martinezdecastro will be with us for about 30 more minutes. You said both parties are underwater. Why are democrats underwater compared to their peak . Guest where it comes to latino voters, what our analysis has shown is that republicans are often their worst enemy and democrats their best friends. Decisions that republicans have seen is embracing in the past has pushed some hispanic voters away. Maybe they have gone to support democrats of that point. I think democrats have not solidified those levels of support in these election which is something you were saying that other polls are saying as well. There are advantages for one party over the other. Most fully shows, many latino voters are in greater alignment with the democratic party. But again, you need to seal the deal and that is still not the case. Host what has your polling found that latino voters want on the issue of immigration and Border Security . Guest on immigration, thats an area where there is misconceptions about latinos. The only thing hispanic voters care about is immigration. A lot of folks say it is not part of the top five priorities, both of those would be wrong. Immigration is not part of the top five right now. I think gun violence and abortion have leapfrogged ahead. I think the polling also shows the vast majority of latinos still want protection for immigrants like dreamers, the social workers, farmworkers and others. The white house should figure out how to use executive power and administrative power to do something to protect them. The issue of immigration, i think we as a community we are concerned about Border Security. We reject the binary that you can do only one thing or another. You see there is overwhelming support for Immigration Reform that includes legal channels, providing a path to legalization for immigrant long rooted in our country and that includes measures to protect our borders and ensure that they are secure. Host what is strengthening legal channels mean . Expanding ilLegal Immigration, how do you strengthen that . Guest right now, we have a system that has not been overhauled for a couple of decades. It is not able to respond to the changing needs. Our economy has changed in the needs of families, what is up happening there is no line to stand on and that incentivizes illegal migration. We believe that strengthening legal channels both through family migration and through work based migration which have been the bedrocks of our immigration system and have worked in the past, expanding those will help us reduce ilLegal Immigration which nobody wants to see. Host we pause there for comments from our viewers. First gabe, on the line for democrats. Caller i want to say something, i noticed something about latinos when they come to america. Typically, latinos tend to be gracious to black people and they align with the white majority. I will never vote for a latino under any condition. Host let me stop you there and let clarissa martinezdecastro have a chance to respond. Guest the latino commanded the is a multiracial the Latino Community is a Multiracial Community. We embody some of the opportunities and challeges the community faces. We see a great deal of alignment with the Africanamerican Community because we are afflicted by many of the same challenges and with other communities as well. We think that is the character of the hispanic electorate, we tend to reject extremes and we tend to reject taking rights away from others. An example is the issue of abortion. We believe expanding the hispanic electorate could be part of a stabilizing force in american politics. I think a lot of people are worried about the state of polarization in our country. I am always sorry when any of us have an interaction with an individual, we need to all learn and also give each other praise so that hopefully, one bad apple does not paint our whole perspective of the community. Host whats another example of a position alignment with the africanamericans . Guest policing, i think we all want to see safe policing. Where are communities are not unfairly targeted or racially profiled. We have both been shown to be disproportionately subjected to the search and seizures for example. Without due cause and to more by police. Those reforms are really important for both communities. The area of voting, both communities continue to strengthen, certainly the black community has been at this for a long time. Making sure the the path to the voting booth is open and accessible. I can name a series of areas where latinos have worked with the urban league, naacp on education initiatives and economic and Health Initiatives as well. Host this is joel, a republican. Caller ok thank you. We have a Vice President that went to korea to visit their border but will not visit our southern border here in the usa. 55 years ago i returned from overseas with my bride and i had to jump through hoops to return her here. I even had to sign paperwork that she would not become a burden to this country. The United States of america, that meant she would not be entitled to any government, social program, i am trying to say. That was 55 years ago and we had to come the correct way. It is up to our government to control how, when and where to enter this country. It is not through the southern border. In most of the hispanic people that have come here at the correct way, they do not approve of the way that this is being handled. The taxpayers are being overburdened, the ones that pay taxes are being over prudent by the school taxes, teachers dont have the proper equipment to teach the hispanics that are coming here. We just created a problem. They are coming from 27 or more countries. Host let me stop you there and give you a chance to jump in. Guest first of all, i want to agree with him that you have to jump through all these hoops when you are trying to use the Legal Immigration system which is why we say it should be streamlined so that people who are trying to come in legally dont have to jump through all those hoops. The ones he mentioned are still in place. I think we need checks and balances in that system but i want to assure him that everything he talked about is still in place. I know a couple who has been married for two years that has been waiting for half that time for the visa to be able to bring their spouse over. That is still in place. Having to prove that someone is not going to be a public burden, that is still in place. There is also some misconception. There are points of entry at the border. We are seeing many people do that. We want those points of entry to function. Let me talk about a couple of things that have come up in indicates i want folks walk away remembering this. Latinos in our country are United States citizens. They are not coming in undocumented. They are United States citizens. We care about the issue of immigration for two reasons. One, many of us have friends and family that are immigrants. And two, when the immigration comes toxic, if they are having mixed emotions and having anxiety about immigrants we tend to feel it even know we are United States citizens. We want to balance the system that can restore the rule of law to the system and that includes legality, not just on the border but in the system as well. Host this is john, and independent. Caller good morning sir. I have never called before but this is been something i always wondered. I would like to ask ms. Castro. When i first started paying attention to the immigration coverage, i grew up in the projects. When the immigrants first started coming, latinos, we called them the new black people because they took the pressure off of us for a while. Now, what i want to ask is, why do the latinos vote republican win all the social programs the democrats make it possible for them to be able to receive medicare, medical, health, social programs and whatever. And the republicans but against all of that. But yet, the latinos vote republican. I dont understand. Guest i have heard republican say why dont more latinos vote republican . Again, historically, we continue to see that today. About two thirds of latinos as we show in this research, their values are more aligned with democrats. Historically, about one third have tended to support republicans. There is a swing element within the hispanic electorate that has always been there as well. I think some of it has to do with peoples individual thinking about different things. But it also has to do with what kind of outreach candidates have done. In modern days, that problem is exacerbated with that threat of misinformation where we see a lot of times, efforts to obfuscate what a candidate stands for or the candidate may speak with one face to one community in a different phase to another community. I think we are a Multiracial Community and as such, there will be differences in who supports whom. Its also notable, while we are a diverse community, there continues to be a great affinity over top concerns that we believe the top officials should do something about. Host why latino voters here republican. We want to hear your thoughts from clarissa martinezdecastro. This was at the end of august. Big Government Programs and the advocacy of socialist Bernie Sanders and alexandria alexandria ocasiocortez seems to be driving the democratic agenda scare folks who are familiar with socialism. The disasters that are issued in by the elite vanguard of the proletariat. The unitary block in which they can prosper as they choose. Guest i think that is choose for the two thirds who tend to support democrats and the one third to support republicans. People value a place where they can work hard and get their family ahead. We are a community that believes in hard work, family, faith and country. At the same time we believe that government has a responsibility and a role to play to make sure there is a level Playing Field so that if you work hard you can indeed get ahead. I think when politicians, and i have a great deal of respect for congresswoman leithan, its pushing voters to extremes. I dont think the majority of our fellow voters would think all democrats are in that extreme she tries to paint. Just like some dont believe the extremes that some republicans are painted. I think latinos can be a stabilizing force in politics. Host were talking about the latino vote in 2022. Are those terms interchangeable . Guest unidosus was founded in 1968, through the reports we have done in this community we use latino and hispanic interchangeably because some people use latinx. For this community, the majority prefer the term hispanic. Host to philadelphia, this is matt waiting on our line for democrats. Caller thank you for taking my call, my question it might be silly. We have quite a few puerto ricans, who are citizens unable to vote. I had a puerto rican secretary on my job for 20 years. In the 20 years she was my secretary, she never voted once. Neither did her spouse, neither did her family members who i all new. Knew. These are middleclass people who had good jobs. I used to say to her, why dont you vote . And she said, it doesnt make any difference. That is the problem i see here. What is the voter turnout for hispanics in this country . I think it is very low. Inc. You. Guest that is a good point. A lot of people feel politics is not my thing or i am going to focus on the things i can do something about. Host in the Latino Community . Guest and other communities too. Part of the things we do with Voter Registration work, so many people you talk to say nobody ever talked to me about registering to vote. I cannot tell you how many people say that. We want to make sure the invitation is there. Also the people who say politics is just not my thing to say if you want to go to school in your neighborhood or if you want good streets, guess what . Politics is your thing and voting is not the only way to do it but we certainly should use that. In terms of voter turnout what i would say is that, we have a big registration opportunity gap. During president ial elections, registered voters actually vote eight out of 10 vote in the president ial election. That is pretty good. Now africanamericans in some cycles have been nine out of 10 and white voters somewhere in between. Where we have a gap is in registration. If we can get more people registered, during midterms all groups reduced participation. We saw latinos vote at near president ial levels and hopefully, we are hoping to do everything we can to continue that pattern. We agreed that we need more eligible americans registered to vote and certainly, i would love to see secretaries of state across the country, a measure of their performance is how many of the eligible voters in their state or registered to vote. Host do these numbers sound right to you for president ial turnout for the Womens Center for justice website Voter Registration among white nonhispanic with 71 , among latinos 54 , does that sound right to you . Guest what i tend to look at is of the people who are eligible, what percentage of them . If you look at the latino Adult Population overall, it will include immigrants who are not yet citizens. If we