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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Energized by recent protests that drew more than 20,000 people to advocate for immigration reform, some community leaders are now turning to voter education.
Tony Yapias of Proyecto Latino de Utah is among those working on a list of candidates who support comprehensive immigration reform and a hit list of opposing candidates who don't.
He said candidates who have openly supported documented and undocumented immigrants will get an endorsement. Those who haven't will not.
Political observers question how much impact the lists could have, given historically low Latino voter turnout.
Many aren't eligible to vote because they are too young or aren't citizens. Among Utah Hispanics who are eligible, only 40 percent voted in the last presidential election, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report.
"I recognize totally that we Latinos don't have voting power," Yapias said. "If we enlist our friends, our neighbors, our church members, those who are citizens and those who can vote, that's where we'll really have power."
Brigham Young University political scientist Quin Monson doubts that the lists would make a difference for many voters in this election, in large part because many of those most concerned about immigration can't vote, either because they're too young or aren't citizens.
"In the short term they aren't going to matter much in elections," Monson said. "Twenty years from now, they're going to be pretty important. It's something parties need to think about carefully."
Longtime community activist Archie Archuleta, who chairs the Utah Hispanic Democratic Caucus, said immigration is increasingly becoming an issue for voters.
"Registered voters vote particularly on education, wages, jobs and health care, but immigration will be in there," he said.
Anti-illegal immigration activist Alex Segura disagreed, saying that many of the youths who have been protesting against hard-line immigration measures will likely change their minds.
"I think they'll assimilate into the culture and realize what they have," Segura said. "Once they see the culture here turning in the direction of Mexico . . . , they'll attempt to stop it, because they don't want it."
Segura, who is running for a West Valley House seat, is on the Proyecto Latino hit list, right beneath Rep. Glenn Donnelson, R-North Ogden, who is the No. 1 target Yapias and others would like to see ousted from the Legislature. Donnelson sponsored HB7, a failed bill to repeal a state law granting in-state tuition to some undocumented students and other bills aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Rep. Margaret Dayton, chairwoman of the House Education Committee, which voted to move HB7 to the House floor, is also opposed.
"They were all lined up anyway," Segura said. "It's no surprise."
On a federal level, all three of Utah's congressmen voted for a measure to crack down on illegal immigration, but Republican Rep. Chris Cannon garnered the Utah Latino group's endorsement. Cannon has said that he voted for HR4437 to move the debate closer to a conference committee, where he hoped to produce comprehensive immigration reform.
Joe Hunter, Cannon's chief of staff, said "we're very pleased" with the endorsement but added, "Hispanic voters are not single-issue voters.
"This is not just about immigration; they are worried about jobs and education, just like everybody else," Hunter said.
Yapias said Proyecto Latino is also endorsing Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who last week opposed comprehensive measures because of his work on the DREAM Act, to give undocumented youths a way to earn legal status through education, or military or community service.
Yapias said Cannon and Hatch have both been outspoken and taken flak, but it's hard to say where Democrat Rep. Jim Matheson or Republican Rob Bishop stand. He said Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, has also been somewhat mum.
"It's either black or white for me," Yapias said. "Is the candidate supporting our cause or not?"
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
