Univision to Back Citizenship Drive

MIRIAM JORDAN in the Wall Street Journal On-Line (here) reports on a new Univision citizenship drive. The story begins:

Backed by the largest Spanish-language broadcast network in the U.S., a massive campaign by Latino media and grass-roots groups to spur millions of eligible Hispanic residents to become U.S. citizens is showing results that could influence the agenda and outcome of the 2008 election. More than eight million green-card holders — that is, legal permanent residents — are eligible to become U.S. citizens, and the majority are immigrants of Latin American origin, according to U.S. government data. Now, Univision Communications Inc. is using its considerable clout with the Spanish-speaking community in the U.S. to turn this latent voting bloc into an active and potentially potent force. The citizenship drive, which is about to go national, could help turn Latinos into a key electoral constituency in several states.

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After California’s Proposition 187 in 1994, followed by welfare and immigration reform in 1996, naturalization rates spiked.  We might see a similar spike as a response to the Sensenbreener bill, the spring 2006 marches, and the continuing controversy over immigration reform.  Stay tuned!

KJ