How will Latino voters affect the US political landscape in the next 10 years?
The coming swell of young people who will be eligible to vote - a good percentage of them will be Latinos, because as I said, Latinos are demographically far younger than the average American. If we're smart, we'll attract them to policy and politics so that they will want to participate as soon as they turn 18, which will mean the texture of our politics will look somewhat different. We'll have to, as political figures, be able to respond more directly to a constituency, a population that has oftentimes been neglected or even attacked, and I hope that as the years continue to accrue, that Latinos, young Latinos or young and old, will begin to realize, "We've got some clout. We don't need to be wealthy to have a political influence. Our vote, because of our growing numbers, can be the influence we need." And so if we can help this constituency understand that it's got a lot of political clout, I think you're going to begin to see a change in the texture of our debates, political debates, and I think you're going to find politicians thinking twice about so easily scapegoating immigrants, or those who speak or sound differently. And I hope that's the case because being a first generation, having parents who speak English but speak it with an accent, I know no better Americans than my mother and father. They never ask for anything. So no one should ever look at them and point a finger and say they're the cause of our problems, because quite honestly, they've helped build this country.
