大象传媒

After 37 years of living in the United States, Gast贸n Garcia overcame anxiety over the naturalization process and became a citizen in Tucson, Arizona, in late September 2024. He has another milestone still ahead: voting for the first time.

Wearing a dark blue suit and a broad smile, he walked out of his naturalization ceremony holding a small U.S. flag and his citizenship certificate. The timing was no coincidence; he aimed to become eligible to vote before the Nov. 5 presidential election. 

鈥淚 am very excited that I will be able to vote,鈥� says Garcia, 57. 鈥淲e can express our voice and, more than anything, we can make ourselves count.鈥�

In swing states such as Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania, and large states such as California, the influence of Latino voters like Garcia could be key to choosing the next president in the race between former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Newly naturalized citizens and an influx of young Latinos reaching the voting age of 18 boosted to 36.2 million in 2024, up from 32.3 million in 2020.

A by Phoenix-based advocacy group (LUCHA) and Data for Social Good shows that a majority of 1,028 registered Arizona voters surveyed between April and May are highly motivated to cast a ballot. While immigration remains important for many Latinos, the poll found they are also deeply concerned about the economy, health care access, and affordable housing. The findings track with examining the issues Latino voters are thinking about less than a month before the election.

The shifting demographics of Latino voters reflect the nuanced distinctions within an evolving population often characterized as a monolithic voting bloc. 鈥淲e鈥檙e a diverse community with a wide range of political views, experience, and priorities,鈥� says Alejandra Gomez, executive director of LUCHA.

Canvassers have been knocking on doors all over the state since March to encourage voters鈥擫atinos in particular鈥攖o cast a ballot and hopes are high that they will turn out en masse, says Stephanie Maldonado, managing director at LUCHA. 鈥淚 definitely do see our community showing up and showing up big this November 5th,鈥� she adds.

Garcia says he鈥檚 looking forward to making his vote count. For years after coming to the U.S. from Mexico, he worked in construction. In the 1990s, he started his own landscaping business, which he still operates. These days he worries about inflation because his earnings don鈥檛 go as far as they used to when buying necessities. 鈥淧rices have gone way up, for food and gasoline and other items,鈥� he says.

Garcia is hopeful the next president will take on issues related to the economy, but he also would like the future commander-in-chief to push for immigration reforms. What鈥檚 needed, he says, is an orderly, speedier process that gives eligible people already in the country or waiting to apply for U.S. asylum south of the border an opportunity to live here legally. 鈥淧eople come here to improve their lives and to achieve the American dream, as I did,鈥� he says. 

Dustin Corella, who was born in Tucson, is among a generation of young Latinos coming of age in 2024. Soon after turning 18 in June, he registered to vote and is eager to cast a ballot. 鈥淚t feels like a big responsibility,鈥� he says.

The issues motivating Corella to vote include his desire to elect politicians who ensure appropriate funding for public education as well as after-school programs and other resources aimed at youth in the community. And he says there鈥檚 a need for elected officials who can better address the impact of climate change, adding, 鈥淭hose are the things that I care about, and I鈥檓 looking for leaders who can tackle them and create opportunities for the next generation.鈥�

Corella is one of 1.3 million eligible Latino voters in Arizona. The state, along with California, Texas, Florida, and New York, is home to about two-thirds, or 65%, of all Latino eligible voters in the country, according to the .

For Latinos and immigrant communities across the country, the stakes are high this election, says Nicole Melaku, executive director of the . The coalition of immigrant and refugee rights organizations is working to encourage the nation鈥檚 naturalized citizens to vote, especially in the face of anti-immigrant attacks. For example, a slew of focuses negatively on immigrants.

鈥淲ith the likes of Project 2025 looming about in the background, of family separation and of attacks to our democracy, I think it was important for us to make sure that our communities, and naturalized voters especially, are aware of the power that their vote and their voice has to shape the outcome of the election,鈥� Melaku says.

Project 2025 is a policy agenda of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that aims to radically restructure the federal government in a conservative administration. Experts caution that and promotes with far-reaching implications.

from the project, but he has made immigration a key part of the race. In one campaign stop after another, Trump鈥檚 against immigrants punctuates his speeches. Should he win, he promises to quickly launch living in the country without legal status鈥攁nd even some with legal status.

Instead of countering him with pro-immigrant rhetoric, Harris has responded by taking a tougher stance on the issue, including a proposal to implemented by the Biden administration. She has also endorsed . for a record number of migrants鈥攎any of them asylum seekers鈥攅ntering the U.S. from Mexico, even as amid policy changes on both sides of the border.聽

In the border state of Arizona, the immigration debate is ever present. On Nov. 5, voters will reject or approve Proposition 314, which would give the state authority to enforce federal immigration policies. The initiative, Maldonado says, 鈥渟pecifically targets immigrant communities and continues to push racial profiling, which we know is a top concern among the Latino community. And I think that this election for us is pushing back against policies that continue to criminalize our families and communities.鈥�

Immigration hits close to home for Maldonado, who comes from a mixed-status family. She and her two siblings are U.S.-born citizens and her father is a legal resident. However, her mother is undocumented, says Maldonado, and returned to Mexico some time ago. Her mother鈥檚 departure was the catalyst for Maldonado to become more involved in electoral and civic matters. 鈥淲e need a permanent solution on immigration, not just for my family, but millions of families across the country and many diverse families that are living in these complexities of being separated,鈥� she explains.聽

The Latino vote in the upcoming election could mean a shift in the usual narrative about the nation鈥檚 second-largest group of voters, Maldonado says. 鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 have this much power, there wouldn鈥檛 be so many attempts at trying to strip away our rights.鈥� She adds, 鈥淲e just need to come together and make it happen even greater this year.鈥� 

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