The next and final four years of Barack Obama's term as president will be important if the Democrats hope to maintain the leverage they have with Latinos voters.
Latinos voted in powerful numbers, about 2 to 1, to help reelect President Obama last November against Republican candidate Mitt Romney and many are expecting positive results for the Latino community.
President Obama might have given Latinos a boost in national prescience during the inauguration on Monday.
Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor became the fourth woman but the first Hispanic to deliver the inaugural oath to Vice President Joe Biden, twice - on Jan. 20 and Jan 21.
Further, the inaugural poem was delivered by the first time by a Hispanic who was also the first gay man to also deliver the poem. Richard Blanco delivered the poem "One Today."
For the full transcript of "One Today," click here.
Actress Eva Longoria, who co-chaired Obama's campaign, hosted the "Latino Inaugural 2013: In Performance at the Kennedy Center" on the night before Monday's inauguration. Longoria's event featured Jose Feliciano, Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, and Prince Royce.
Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the Latino Inaugural and said, "One thing that happened in this election, you spoke. You spoke in a way that the world, and I mean the world, as well as the United States, could not fail to hear. This is your moment. America owes you."
But outside of the inauguration, Latinos are expecting more and immigration reform appears to top the list.
"Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country," said President Obama during his Inaugural speech.
The statement stirred comments that immigration will finally become an important issue.
"In the first term, we had a big economic crisis that gobbled up a lot of time and energy," said National Council of La Raza Vice President Eric Rodriguez, according to NBC Latino. "This speech felt right, in the way he now has a mandate and an opening to pursue the things he really believes in,"
"My prayers for 2013 is that President Obama and the Congress will act to finally fix our immigration system and create a path to citizenship for families like mine, so that families like mine can reunite," said New Mexico resident Alejandra Gomez to NPR, who lost her two brothers due to deportation.
According to the Orange County Register, El Centro Cultural de Mexico Director Carolina Sarmiento, a Santa Ana cultural center, noted, "Obama deported more Mexican immigrants than ever before. ... Our community needs to be careful with both Republican and Democratic attempts to use our support for purely political gain."
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