Reality check on immigration reform

*More and more I’m hearing this in conversation among Latinos. Is immigration crowding out other pressing issues? Has immigration come to define Latinos politically? VL

By Esther Cepeda, Washington Post Writers Group

CHICAGO — We know that diversity is a source of strength. Yet sometimes it’s also a challenge.

 I’m thinking of the “Hispanic community,” which I’ve placed in quotes because both parts of this umbrella term are heavily contested. Not only is there no consensus on whether the preferred term should be Hispanic or Latino, the very notion that there is a cohesive community with similar characteristics is laughable.

 Anyone wondering why Hispanics have not yet reached critical mass at the voting booth or in legislative bodies should look to their immense diversity. We’re talking about a population that is both native- and foreign-born and no longer even united by language.

 The current lively debate—almost exclusively among Hispanics active on social media and on the comment boards of Hispanic news sites—about whether immigration has crowded out other pressing issues for Hispanics has finally prodded the nonpartisan Pew Research Center’s Hispanic Trends Project to weigh in on the relative importance of immigration. Again.

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