Mexico Will Be Listening to Obama at Democratic National Convention W. Alejandro Sanchez - VOXXI
go to original September 4, 2012

Obama campaign logo is seen under the scoreboard hanging from the ceiling inside of Time Warner Cable Arena at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Monday, Sept. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Mexico is listening to President Barack Obama’s expectations for a second term and his plans to improve US-Mexico relations at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.

When President Barack Obama delivers his speech accepting his party’s re-nomination at the Democratic National Convention, attendees and television viewers will be listening with a diversity of expectations. Mexican observers will be taking note of how much time the DNC will devote to the discussion of issues like drug trafficking and immigration during the upcoming meeting. During the recently-concluded Republican National Convention, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed for a “compassionate” immigration policy, to appeal to Latino voters. While this issue is important for U.S. citizens of Mexican background, it is just one of many facing the next administration.

A well-known immigration-related bill is the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, commonly known as the DREAM Act, which, if passed, would be a major victory for the Obama administration. This piece of legislation provides legal residency status for undocumented residents who arrived to the country as minors, who graduate from U.S. high schools and have lived continuously in the country for five years. Since DREAM has yet to be passed, Obama signed an executive order earlier this year that resembles the aforementioned bill.

According to research carried out by the Washington DC-basedImmigration Policy Center, most of the likely beneficiaries of DREAM are originally from Mexico and most currently reside in California. Whether similar initiatives will expand to other undocumented immigrants (based on their age group, time living in the U.S., or lack of criminal record) during a potential Obama second term, remains to be seen. Republican candidate Mitt Romney has been generally ambivalent on immigration policies.

Whether or not the immigration issue influences Latino voters’ decisions come November is debatable, though, a pro-immigration stance should help Obama gain significant votes in areas that have large Latino communities, like those of Mexican descent, such as California.

Read more at VOXXI

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