Latinos Give Obama a “C” Grade

Julia Preston writes for the NY Times:

Leaders of the nation’s major Hispanic organizations, issuing their first progress report on their priority issues, gave C grades on Wednesday to President Obama and to Congress for their performance over the last two years. But they warned that even the small gains Hispanics have seen are at risk of being erased in negotiations by the bipartisan committee that will recommend ways to reduce the federal deficit.

The progress report was released by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, which includes N.C.L.R. (also known as the National Council of La Raza), the Hispanic Federation, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and about two dozen other Hispanic organizations. It examined action, or lack of it, on a blueprint of policy recommendations the leadership group published in 2008.

For Latinos, the lack of movement toward an immigration overhaul to give legal status to undocumented immigrants overshadowed progress on other issues, Hispanic leaders said. Read more…

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