Luisita Lopez Torregrosa shook her head when questioned if the United States would see immigration reform in the next few years, and she said she struggles to see an adequate solution.

‘Immigration in the United States has come to mean Hispanic immigration,’ Torregrosa said. ‘And further, illegal immigration.’

The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer spoke Tuesday night in Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium, focusing on the future of immigration and its impact on last week’s elections.

A columnist for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times, a correspondent for PoliticsDaily.com and a contributor to the Los Angeles Times, Torregrosa was once an assistant national editor for The New York Times and has written an award-winning memoir.

Thirty-five million to 40 million people in the United States are of Hispanic ancestry, but only about ten million entered the United States illegally, said Torregrosa, who was raised in Puerto Rico.

Torregrosa said there is no solution to the illegal immigration problem except a strengthened border enforcement, which has proven successful in the past year.

The climate in the United States is unfavorable for Hispanic immigrants, especially due to the stereotype that they are underachievers, Torregrosa said.

Torregrosa said it is important to know why Hispanics come to the United States, naming the search for jobs as the main motivator. The promise of employment in America travels by word of mouth in Hispanic countries, and the need for money despite a lack of education drives many to enter the United States for work, Torregrosa said.

‘They remain in the shadows,’ Torregrosa said. ‘They are hardly able to become a part of society.’

Many Americans’ practice of hiring illegal immigrants is not only against the law but hypocritical because many who hire illegal immigrants call for strengthened border security, she said.

Latino voters had a huge impact in last week’s elections, especially in the case of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Torregrosa said.

Illegal immigration was not the primary concern of Latino voters when surveyed, Torregrosa said. Jobs, education, health care and the economy were listed first.

‘I would like to see a broader understanding on what it’s like to be Hispanic in America today,’ Torregrosa said of these conventional all-American values. ‘They want what we want.’

Torregrosa said the Latino vote will be key in the 2012 elections and that the Republican Party has taken Latino votes for granted.

Contrary to popular belief, not all Latinos are affiliated with the Democratic Party, she said. Many are against illegal immigration and feel resentment toward those who enter the country undocumented, especially in Florida, Texas and New Mexico, Torregrosa said.

‘It paints all Hispanics in a certain way,’ she said. In reality, the success and wealth of Hispanics in the United States varies greatly, as seen in Florida, where a large middle and upper Latino class can be found, she said.

Though she considered the idea of a ‘Hispanic Republican’ an oxymoron, Torregrosa said she has noticed a shift in Latino political party alignment, particularly because of their culture. Latinos are typically more conservative, aligning themselves with pro-life and anti-same sex marriage viewpoints, she said. These views were exemplified in the vote against same-sex marriage in California, in which both Latino and Mormon voters were dominant.

Torregrosa expressed hope for fewer negative news stories regarding Latinos to improve the group’s image and called for more Hispanic representation in the media and other industries.

Nikelle Snader, a sophomore magazine journalism major, said Torregrosa’s Hispanic background and experience in the field gave her more of a personal stake and credibility on the topic.

‘In classrooms, we usually just talk about the way the media frames Hispanics,’ Snader said. ‘She brought up a lot of relevant points that we need to think about.’

brvannos@syr.edu

Published on November 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm

Contact Breanne: brvannos@syr.edu | @bre_vann