As a filmmaker and a first generation Hispanic American, I had only one thought in mind when I started directing DREAM: An American Story and that thought was: “I need to help the Hispanic American community in this nation.”

Why did I feel that way at the beginning of 2009? Because after the last failed attempt to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2007, a strong and honest attempt spearheaded by the Bush Administration, the national tone over immigration had taken a decisive turn for the worst. And the alarming rhetoric that I began to hear seemed to be directed at a very specific subset of the immigrant community, Hispanics.

That’s why when I read a story about an exceptional undocumented student from Colombia, I knew that this would be my next film. Since that time, and entering our fifth year of production, I have come to know Juan Gomez as an American. He is everything that America stands for: smart, talented, and hard-working. He also thoroughly believes in the American Dream, that by hard work, discipline and application, you can make a better life for yourself. And I don’t know if there’s anything more American than that belief. And I don’t know of anything that makes you more American than believing in the American Dream. And Juan Gomez is living proof of that.

As I followed Juan’s trials and tribulations, as well as great successes, I also got to know several players in the emerging youth activist movement that began advocating for passage of the DREAM Act in 2008. Since that time, the movement has become a truly national movement, represented by two main umbrella organizations, United We Dream and Dream Activist. The young undocumented students that make up the movement have also shown me what it means to be politically active in a democracy, and how to use that political advocacy to advance social justice. To me, they represent the best of what this great nation stands for, the use of democratic tools to change unjust laws. So I started following that strand in the film as well.

In 2010, Arizona introduced SB 1070, one of the most regressive anti-immigrant laws to have been passed by any state legislature until that time. Soon after, other states, like Alabama and Georgia, followed suit with their own copycat laws, which targeted members of the undocumented immigrant community, especially Latinos. At that time, I thought that any hope for passage of a national immigration bill would not emerge for many, many more years to come.

But oh, was I wrong. It turns out that I wasn’t alone, that many Latinos in the US felt the same way I felt at the time. I felt that the heated rhetoric and mean spirited comments aimed at the most vulnerable members of the Hispanic community in this nation were unjust and simply untrue. Furthermore, as I followed the characters in the documentary I was filming, and as I encountered and talked to many other Americans of Hispanic descent, I began to realize that an overwhelming majority of the Hispanic American population in the US cared very deeply about immigration reform, and that although it didn’t show up as a top concern in most of the national polls, it was an issue that could definitely stir the emotions of a population that, by association, felt unjustly vilified.

And so, as they say, the rest is history. On November 6, 2012 Latinos went to the polls in droves and overwhelmingly voted for President Obama, the candidate that seemed most likely to do something about immigration reform if re-elected.

And so, this is where we are today: The political climate surrounding the issue of immigration has changed considerably in the last six months and at this very moment, the Senate has introduced its immigration reform bill and the House is expected to follow with their own version any day now. The fact that politicians from both sides of the aisle are finally responding to the national call for reform is not an accident. Due to tremendous activism by DREAMers, immigration reform advocacy organizations, pro-immigrant activists and concerned citizens all over the U.S., the 2012 Presidential Election showed just how important the issue of immigration is to a large majority of the populace.

And that is why I decided to release segments of an as yet unfinished film, to tell the story of how we got here. Maybe after watching the episodes, you can take part in the last chapter of the film — the one I hope will close the documentary on a high note. And although Congress is clearly motivated to pass immigration reform this year, objections from anti-immigration forces are already emerging, so passage is by no means a foregone conclusion. It still remains a considerable challenge.

I believe that as a nation, we have the power to emerge from this challenge with a new understanding of who we are as Americans, incorporating our history, ideals and tradition: A tradition that has always led us to ultimately embrace the new hopes and new faces of immigrants from all over the globe, and a history that has made us a shining beacon of freedom for the rest of the world.

Watch the featured episodes from the film. Get to know the issue from the ground up. See if you feel differently after viewing the documentary. And then go out and do something about it.

Aldo Bello
Producer/Director
DREAM: An American Story

Tons of organizations, like Voto Latino, National Council of La Raza and United We Dream have been working diligently to get our gente to the booths to vote for the next President of the United States and set the direction our country will take.

Click on the image to understand why it's so important that you get out and vote today

But it’s not just the Presidential race and the direction of our country that’s at stake!

1.  Passing of the DREAM Act would result in more taxable income

-  The DREAM Act would provide its beneficiaries access to higher levels of education, which would result in access to better jobs and thus more taxable income.

- Education is a key factor of the DREAM Act, as this will be one of the primary engines that drive and determine whether or not the DREAMers are allowed to stay in the country. The two-year college attendance requirement will allow the beneficiaries of the DREAM Act to become active members of the U.S. economy. An individual with a bachelor’s degree earns approximately $750,000 more over the course of their lifetime than an individual with a high school degree, according to a study from Arizona State University.s more taxable income.

- The earnings of the DREAMers over the course of their lives would amount to $1.4 trillion – $3.6 trillion according to a study by UCLA’s North American Integration and Development Center.

- Workers with a high-school diploma earn around $419 per week. On the other hand, workers with a bachelor’s degree earn around $962 per week according to the United States Department of Labor.

2.  The Dream Act would save taxpayer money

-   According to a 1999 RAND Study, raising the college graduation rate of Hispanics to that of non-Hispanic whites would increase spending on public education by 10 percent nationwide, but the costs would be more than offset by savings in public health and benefits, as well as by increased tax revenues resulting from higher incomes.

- Better educated individuals will not only have access to jobs that will result in greater contributions to the tax pool, but they will presumably lead lifestyles that will decrease their need to use public health services and government unemployment benefits.

3.  The Dream Act would increase revenues of higher learning organizations

-  The 10 states that have allowed undocumented students to qualify to pay in state tuition since 2001 (Texas, California, Utah, Washington, New York, Oklahoma, Illinois, Kansas, New Mexico, and Nebraska), have seen a rise in revenues as higher numbers of undocumented students enroll in school and begin to pay tuition.

According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office all of these benefits combined would cut the deficit by $1.4 billion and increase government revenues by $2.3 billion over the next 10 years.

Sources:
- The Dream Act: Good For Our Economy, Good for Our Security, Good For our Nation. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/DREAM-Act-WhiteHouse-FactSheet.pdf

- The DREAM Act: Creating Economic Opportunities
http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/dream-act-creating-economic-opportunities

And this my friends, is why we support passage of the DREAM Act…because it makes good economic sense.  DREAMers will be the first in line to get a higher education, which translates to higher levels of innovation and entrepreneurship…to the benefit of all Americans!

I hope you have a great weekend.

PS: Feel free to share!

Tonight, I will be celebrating Halloween by baby-sitting my brother’s house (and passing out some candy to the neighborhood kids that come knocking), while he takes his baby girl out trick or treating in the neighborhood.  A great American tradition and one that I will celebrate not only tonight, but also tomorrow, by attending a Halloween Ball.

But as a Hispanic American, I will also be celebrating another tradition, a tradition known as el “Dia de los Muertos,” and observed throughout the Latino world.

Typical "Dia De Los Muertos" Skull Makeup

The 3-day observances pay tribute to relatives long gone.  The celebrants also acknowledge that they too, will one day  join their departed beloved, and typical costumes involve elaborate and artful “skull” makeup, such as that in the caption above.

So Friday night I will also be attending a “Dia De Los Muertos” Ball, in full skull makeup and Mariachi outfit.

As a Hispanic American I revel in both traditions, but I shall make use of the North American one by asking that in the months ahead, after the Presidential Election is over, we turn our attention to the passage of immigration reform.

Now that would be a real treat!

If you live in Maryland, remember to Vote for Question 4 on November 6!

Enjoy the video…

The Dream Team

WHO GAVE LORRAINE THE BEST ANSWER?

QUESTION: Mr. Romney, what do you plan on doing with immigrants without their green cards that are currently living here as productive members of society?

ROMNEY: Thank you. Lorraine? Did I get that right? Good. Thank you for your question. And let me step back and tell you what I would like to do with our immigration policy broadly and include an answer to your question.

But first of all, this is a nation of immigrants. We welcome people coming to this country as immigrants. My dad was born in Mexico of American parents; Ann’s dad was born in Wales and is a first-generation American. We welcome legal immigrants into this country.

I want our legal system to work better. I want it to be streamlined. I want it to be clearer. I don’t think you have to — shouldn’t have to hire a lawyer to figure out how to get into this country legally. I also think that we should give visas to people — green cards, rather, to people who graduate with skills that we need. People around the world with accredited degrees in science and math get a green card stapled to their diploma, come to the U.S. of A. We should make sure our legal system works.

Number two, we’re going to have to stop illegal immigration. There are 4 million people who are waiting in line to get here legally. Those who’ve come here illegally take their place. So I will not grant amnesty to those who have come here illegally.

What I will do is I’ll put in place an employment verification system and make sure that employers that hire people who have come here illegally are sanctioned for doing so. I won’t put in place magnets for people coming here illegally. So for instance, I would not give driver’s licenses to those that have come here illegally as the president would.

The kids of those that came here illegally, those kids, I think, should have a pathway to become a permanent resident of the United States and military service, for instance, is one way they would have that kind of pathway to become a permanent resident.

ROMNEY: Now when the president ran for office, he said that he’d put in place, in his first year, a piece of legislation — he’d file a bill in his first year that would reform our — our immigration system, protect legal immigration, stop illegal immigration. He didn’t do it.

He had a Democrat House, a Democrat Senate, super majority in both Houses. Why did he fail to even promote legislation that would have provided an answer for those that want to come legally and for those that are here illegally today? What’s a question I think the — the president will have a chance to answer right now.

OBAMA: Good, I look forward to it.

Was — Lorranna — Lorraine — we are a nation of immigrants. I mean we’re just a few miles away from Ellis Island. We all understand what this country has become because talent from all around the world wants to come here. People are willing to take risks. People who want to build on their dreams and make sure their kids have an even bigger dreams than they have.

But we’re also a nation of laws. So what I’ve said is we need to fix a broken immigration system and I’ve done everything that I can on my own and sought cooperation from Congress to make sure that we fix the system.

The first thing we did was to streamline the legal immigration system, to reduce the backlog, make it easier, simpler and cheaper for people who are waiting in line, obeying the law to make sure that they can come here and contribute to our country and that’s good for our economic growth.

They’ll start new businesses. They’ll make things happen to create jobs here in the United States.

Number two, we do have to deal with our border so we put more border patrol on the — any time in history and the flow of undocumented works across the border is actually lower than it’s been in 40 years.

What I’ve also said is if we’re going to go after folks who are here illegally, we should do it smartly and go after folks who are criminals, gang bangers, people who are hurting the community, not after students, not after folks who are here just because they’re trying to figure out how to feed their families. And that’s what we’ve done. And what I’ve also said is for young people who come here, brought here often times by their parents. Had gone to school here, pledged allegiance to the flag. Think of this as their country. Understand themselves as Americans in every way except having papers. And we should make sure that we give them a pathway to citizenship.

And that’s what I’ve done administratively. Now, Governor Romney just said, you know he wants to help those young people too, but during the Republican primary, he said, “I will veto the DREAM Act”, that would allow these young people to have access.” His main strategy during the Republican primary was to say, “We’re going to encourage self-deportation.” Making life so miserable on folks that they’ll leave. He called the Arizona law a model for the nation. Part of the Arizona law said that law enforcement officers could stop folks because they suspected maybe they looked like they might be undocumented workers and check their papers.

You know what? If my daughter or yours looks to somebody like they’re not a citizen, I don’t want — I don’t want to empower somebody like that. So, we can fix this system in a comprehensive way. And when Governor Romney says, the challenge is, “Well Obama didn’t try.” That’s not true. I have sat down with Democrats and Republicans at the beginning of my term. And I said, let’s fix this system. Including Senators previously who had supported it on the Republican side. But it’s very hard for Republican’s in Congress to support comprehensive immigration reform, if their standard bearer has said that, this is not something I’m interested in supporting.

CROWLEY: Let me get the governor in here, Mr. President. Let’s speak to, if you could…

ROMNEY: Yes.

CROWLEY: …the idea of self-deportation?

ROMNEY: No, let — let — let me go back and speak to the points that the president made and — and — and let’s get them correct.

I did not say that the Arizona law was a model for the nation in that aspect. I said that the E-Verify portion of the Arizona law, which is — which is the portion of the law which says that employers could be able to determine whether someone is here illegally or not illegally, that that was a model for the nation. That’s number one.

Number two, I asked the president a question I think Hispanics and immigrants all over the nation have asked. He was asked this on Univision the other day. Why, when you said you’d filed legislation in your first year didn’t you do it? And he didn’t answer. He — he doesn’t answer that question. He said the standard bearer wasn’t for it.

I’m glad you thought I was a standard bearer four years ago, but I wasn’t.

Four years ago you said in your first year you would file legislation.

In his first year, I was just getting — licking my wounds from having been beaten by John McCain, all right. I was not the standard bearer.

My — my view is that this president should have honored his promise to do as he said.

Now, let me mention one other thing, and that is self-deportation says let people make their own choice. What I was saying is, we’re not going to round up 12 million people, undocumented illegals, and take them out of the nation. Instead let people make their own choice. And if they — if they find that — that they can’t get the benefits here that they want and they can’t — and they can’t find the job they want, then they’ll make a decision to go a place where — where they have better opportunities.

But I’m not in favor of rounding up people and — and — and taking them out of this country. I am in favor, as the president has said, and I agree with him, which is that if people have committed crimes we got to get them out of this country.

ROMNEY: Let me mention something else the president said. It was a moment ago and I didn’t get a chance to, when he was describing Chinese investments and so forth.

OBAMA: Candy?

Hold on a second. The…

ROMNEY: Mr. President, I’m still speaking.

Last week the Undocubus began its cross-country tour from Phoenix, Arizona to North Carolina — just in time for the Democratic National Convention on September 3.

Undocubus to Roll From Arizona to DNC Convention. Throughout American history, whether or not those who had the most to lose were involved, it seems like everyone has an opinion on immigration and the consequences of action, or inaction and related legislation.

More recently, since the DREAM Act didn’t pass a Senate vote in late 2010, there hasn’t really been any legislation put forward to change immigration policy in the country. Consequently, two movements have emerged to move the immigration issue forward built around activism and administrative action.

Most notably, the work of DREAM Activists, such as United We DREAM, along with administrative rules put into place by the Obama Administration have received the most attention and made the biggest difference.

So what’s the state of politicized immigration activism now?

Last week the Undocubus began its cross-country tour from Phoenix, Arizona to North Carolina — just in time for the Democratic National Convention on September 3.

The bus is be filled with undocumented activists and travel through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia to “come out” as undocumented and discuss why there is no reason to fear undocumented status any longer. The stated purpose of the campaign is immigration-related reforms though the final destination is a very political event.

Organizers said on background that this action is inspired by the activism of undocumented youth and encompasses three main points. First, the “coming out” of undocumented people as a way to assuage fear in communities across the country. Secondly, to highlight undocumented people as community leaders, and illustrate pointedly that they are not criminals to be deported. And third, to encourage community organizing.

No one from the No Papers, No Fear Ride For Justice campaign (aka Undocubus) would speak on the record about the campaign. There are a variety of organizations involved in the action. They include: National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Puente Arizona, Jobs for Justice, the Immigrant Youth Justice League and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. But the spokespeople for the movement are the immigrants themselves.

María Cruz, 46, is originally from Hidalgo, Mexico, and has been living in Phoenix without papers since 2001. She didn’t really seem to have strong feelings on the tour’s final destination of the DNC, rather, her focus was on what she wanted for her children, her family, her community.

After her children became involved in the ethnic studies protests in Arizona earlier this year, she decided that she, too, should come out in support of issues that she said were important to her community.

“More than anything I want to get on that bus because I want to fight for my family, because I want to fight for myself, because I want to fight for my community,” she said in Spanish. “I want everyone else to listen to us, to know that, united, we can achieve the change we need.”

But, when asked about the political destination of the action, Cruz was nonplussed.

Gerardo Torres, 41, said his involvement with the bus tour was not about politics. After having lived the past 18 years in Phoenix with no papers, the criminal rhetoric associated with immigrants and the passage of SB 1070 spurred him into activism.

“This is my first major involvement in any kind of movement, we need to make people aware of who we really are, what we really want of this country,” he told Politic365.

“We love this country, we want to be here legally — but there is no way we can do it. They have to change the laws, they have to make a major change on that policy,” Torres added.

He went on to say he believes the Undocubus tour is a good way to attain visibility, but ultimately, that politics doesn’t play a role.

“This is about my community [not Republicans or Democrats],” he said. “I want respect. It’s one of our hopes that we can be legal in this country. It’s all about my community. I really don’t care about politics.”

Yet, the Undocubus’ destination of the Democratic National Convention seems to give a different impression of its intentions. If the immigrant “spokespeople” themselves don’t care about politics, but the organizers chose an inherently political event to top off this action, who’s really politicizing immigration?

Immigration is always going to be a political issue — because there are always going to be winners and losers. But not talking about who those winners and losers are, and trying to obfuscate the players behind people caught in between isn’t necessarily the best way to show how immigration supersedes politics. On the contrary, it illustrates how politics play a pivotal role in immigration discourse. Politics drives those willing to talk about immigration — on, or off, the record.

On hand to exhort the undocumented youths on their walk across the nation is Filipino native Jose Antonio Vargas, a former Washington Post journalist who came out as an undocumented immigrant in 2010.

On a lovely spring day, Nicholas Gonzalez gathered on the University of California (Berkeley) plaza with four other activists before embarking on their 3,000-mile, eight-month walk across the country to increase awareness about comprehensive immigration reform that includes the Dream Act. His goal: Talk openly to everyone he meets about his status as a young undocumented immigrant raised in this country since he was 5 — a strategy his group ascribes from the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.
The group’s journey continues this week, heading east out of Kansas City, Mo.In recent years, a growing number of these young activists, many of whom are also part of the LGBT community, have blended the “coming out” philosophy into the immigration-reform movement and are talking openly about their status as undocumented immigrants to humanize the issue.

Gonzalez is among this new wave of activists inspired by the late Harvey Milk, one of the nation’s first openly gay elected officials. Milk famously called on the gay community to come out of the closet and live their lives openly.

“We decided to stand up for ourselves and speak for ourselves,” said Gonzalez, 25, of Chicago.
Social-justice strategists have borrowed successful approaches from one another for decades, adapting them to fit specific needs of their movement, says Mary Bernstein, a University of Connecticut sociology professor.

“They get a sense of what works and what doesn’t work,” said Bernstein, who specializes on identity, sexuality, gender, and social movements. “Borrowing (strategies) can be very effective.”

The New Generation
Like leaders from movements before them, immigration reformists often are fueled by their own struggles and incited by challenges faced by others, Bernstein said.
Many have rallied behind the Dream Act, legislation that would give undocumented young people — particularly those who were brought to the U.S. as children by their parents — a path to citizenship if they meet certain requirements.

While President Obama announced in June that his administration would no longer deport young undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children if they follow certain steps, activists say the Dream Act remains necessary since the new policy is not permanent, does not provide a path to citizenship, and leaves many living in fear and perpetual uncertainty.

Two years ago, an encounter in Alabama put Gonzalez on a course of activism and the transcontinental walk that began in March in San Francisco and is to end in November in Washington before the election.
At an immigration rally, Gonzalez asked a young boy what he wanted to do with his future. The boy’s reply? Not to wake up in a deportation cell and be sent back to a country he no longer remembers.
“These kids really have it hard,” Gonzalez said. “Some of them would say, ‘My best friend never came back to school.’ When someone says that and they’re 11 years old, there’s something definitely wrong.”

A Son’s Promise
After Gonzalez’s parents brought him to this country from Mexico, they settled in Chicago, where his mother spent more than a decade as a factory worker making hardware for cabinets and his father was a restaurant cook.
He has little memory of life outside the U.S., and dreams of being able to attend college — a goal he pursues despite the high tuition costs he’ll shoulder from being ineligible for lower in-state college rates and student loans.

“Do you think I do not want to go college?” Gonzalez said. “Right now, it’s harder because I don’t have the assistance. I’ve been living to survive, to put a plate of food on the table for myself.”
When he was a teenager, he promised his mother that he would work hard to do something positive — a commitment that became even more important after she was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He remembers walking with her to the hospital for chemotherapy treatment immediately after graduating middle school, and the nurses were among the first to congratulate him on his achievement.

“I saw the struggle of being undocumented and living with cancer, and the treatment that’s different,” said Gonzalez, who hopes to eventually find a job helping immigrant youth through art therapy. “Seeing my mom fight to stay alive for all those years really has put me in this position where I am now.”
His involvement with the Dream Act began about two years ago, and he soon found himself becoming increasingly vocal at rallies. Prior to a protest in San Bernardino, Calif., he and other speakers got together to plan their message, and thought of Milk’s famous words: “Brothers and sisters, you must come out. Come out to your parents. Come out to your friends, if indeed they are your friends. Come out to your neighbors. Come out to your fellow workers. Once and for all, let’s break down the myths and destroy the lies of distortion.”

“And that’s where it was born,” said Gonzalez, who came out about his immigration status at that rally, thanked by other young people admiring his courage to speak openly.
He and other young LGBT undocumented immigrants have since formed national campaigns, such as Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project and UndocuQueer to educate immigrant-rights activists on their unique experiences. They have also worked to encourage immigrant reform and to urge LGBT leaders to unite.

Jesus Barrios, 22, a senior at California State University (San Bernardino), got involved with immigration reform two years ago. He was moved by the story of two young men arrested on a Southern California college campus after they couldn’t provide school police with identification, prompting police to check their immigration status and pass them to immigration officials.

Barrios, who is gay, soon began speaking openly about his own immigration status, participating in rallies and civil-disobedience demonstrations to call attention to the need for immigration reform.
“We just thought that story was out of this world,” said Barrios, who was brought to this country from Mexico as a child and is undocumented. “These kids who are in a college campus are being questioned by campus police, something that should not be happening.”
Ari Gutierrez, cofounder of the Latino Equality Alliance, says she’s not surprised that young immigrants are coming out publicly about their immigration status. They have learned from the LGBT community that coming out can help build bridges.

“We have learned that in the coming out process, people are happier,” she said. “Even if you lose friends and family, being true to yourself is the healthiest thing to do.”
Recently personifying this strategy is Filipino native Jose Antonio Vargas, a former Washington Post journalist who came out as an undocumented immigrant in 2010 and whose story has since been featured by the New York Times and Time magazine. Vargas was on hand at Berkeley Sproul Plaza to encourage the walking activists to speak to as many people – from all socioeconomics and political affiliations – as possible.“You are saying that we are here,” he said. “And our existence doesn’t threaten yours. Anybody who’s educated benefits everybody.”

The Future
As for Barrios and Gonzalez, they see few options other than being open about their immigration status, just like they were open with their families about their sexual orientation.
Barrios recalled being 19 years old and scared to tell his mom he was gay.
“Mom, I have to tell you something,” he recalls telling as they drove home from his swimming lessons. “Soy gay.” I am gay.
His mother was supportive, as she has been about his decision to come out publicly about his immigration status.
His mother understands that when Barrios finishes his bachelor’s degree in public health, he may face obstacles finding employment due to his immigration status.
“She always has the mother instinct to make sure we’re OK,” Barrios said. “But she also lets us do what we want to do, knowing that it’s for our future.”

Politicians are finally catching up to demographic reality.

Not so long ago, conservatives could use anti-immigrant positioning to rally their base and as a political wedge against moderates. Progressives, meanwhile, could promote pro-immigration policies — but couldn’t gain leverage with moderates or against conservatives.

So conservatives’ anti-immigrant legislative agenda set the terms of the national debate.

But the right’s reaction to two recent developments highlights how quickly the landscape has changed.

First, the Obama administration’s bold decision to grant innocent, undocumented youth protection from deportation largely paralyzed conservatives. Instead of attacking the president for providing “amnesty to illegals” as one would expect, they criticized the constitutionality of his decision.

Second, the Supreme Court’s decision in Arizona v. United States, which vindicated the administration’s challenge to Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, hamstrung conservatives. Rather than argue for the substance of Arizona’s anti-immigrant policy, conservatives complained that the ruling infringed on states’ rights.

The dramatic shift in tone and strategy is due to the fact that politicians, or at least some of them, are finally catching up to public opinion and 21st-century demographic realities. The muted response of conservative elected officials suggests a heightened — and perhaps fatally belated — awareness that immigration politics have changed in response to four important developments.

Key is that the seismic demographic shifts in the electorate and their concentration in battleground states mean that the road to the White House leads through the Latino electorate. Immigration is a defining issue for immigrants and Latinos — not the top issue but a defining issue because it’s personal. These voters, therefore, reject candidates who espouse or associate with anti-immigrant demagoguery — regardless of their views on other issues. And swing voters strongly support pragmatic approaches to solving our immigration problems.

The Obama administration’s decision to provide administrative protection to undocumented youth is a clear example of this new paradigm at work.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney ran one of the most extreme anti-immigrant primary campaigns in memory for a leading candidate. He vowed to veto the DREAM Act and promised to pursue a national self-deportation policy. As a result, his standing with the Latino electorate is in the toilet, and Romney himself acknowledged to a group of donors that he can’t win if he doesn’t do better with those voters.

By contrast, Obama announced a realistic pro-immigration policy that demonstrated his commitment to protecting the Latino community’s youth. In the wake of that decision, Obama saw a sharp increase in his already overwhelming advantage over Romney among Latinos. Perhaps more significantly, he witnessed a 50-point turnaround in Latino voter enthusiasm.

What’s more, polling of likely voters after the announcement showed that the public strongly preferred the president’s approach. In fact, it showed that independent swing voters preferred the president’s approach over Romney’s 2-to-1.

The president’s decision to block Arizona’s anti-immigrant law would have been a political liability, according to the old thinking. Instead, conservatives who previously praised the law are fumbling for a response. Similarly, the administration’s relief for undocumented youth should have triggered a harsh political backlash. Instead, it has broadened and deepened the president’s support among key blocs of voters.

Politicians of all stripes should take note: When it comes to immigration, smart and humane policies are also good politics.

Marshall Fitz is the director of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.