2 New Latino Congressional Seats Suggested In Texas

A group of Latino advocacy organizations in Texas have taken matters into their own hands when it comes to redistricting in the state. Calling themselves the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force, the group includes members of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), LULAC, the American GI Forum and the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Remember that Texas was allotted four new Congressional seats because of growth that is due mostly to the rise in Latino population in that state. Thus, the task force argues, at least two of those seats should be Latino districts.

The Texas Tribune reports:

Texas is getting four new seats in Congress because of its rapid growth over the last decade. And since two-thirds of that growth was Hispanic, a coalition called the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force says at least two of the new districts should have Hispanic majorities. Almost two-thirds of the state’s growth over the last ten years was Hispanic, and Hispanics now account for 38 percent of the Texas population, the group said.

They presented two maps, each of which includes nine Latino-majority seats. That’s two more than in the current 32 districts, and the new seats would go in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and in Starr and western Hidalgo counties in the Rio Grande Valley.

To read the rest of the story click here. We’ve been writing consistently about the need for more Latino political districts, and what we can do to make those happen. The next 10 years of our lives will be defined by the redistricting taking place now, if we just sit idly by and don’t get involved, we’ll be paying for it for the next decade.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD