Immigration Reform 2012: If Democrats Don’t Push Hard Enough on Reform, Will They Lose Latino Support in the 2016 Election?

The wave of Latino voters that took to the polls in last week's presidential election signaled a dramatic turning point in American politics-the coming-out party for a new, large and very influential group of the American electorate.

When the Republican Party and Mitt Romney having sent out a strong stance perceived as anti-immigrant by Latino voters in the weeks and months-and technically, years-leading up to the election, Latino registered voters made sure they paid the price at the polls, with a record 75-percent of Hispanics supporting Obama nationwide.

The result? The president's firewall of Latino votes in Hispanic-heavy swing states like Colorado, Nevada and one of the two biggest swing states, Florida, tilted those states in favor of President Obama, and the Republicans lost their second straight bid at making a run at the White House.

The message sent by Latino voters was heard loud and clear-"We want immigration reform. Now."

Both Democrats and Republicans-the most prominent being GOP House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio- have indicated in the recent days following the election that they are willing to sit down and discuss some sort of deal on immigration reform acceptable to both parties.

A possible sign that a comprehensive immigration overhaul could come soon came from U.S. Senators Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C, the latter who previously opposed the DREAM act, legislation designed to put 1.7 million young Latinos on a path to citizenship.

In August, President Obama announced that his administration would stop the deportation of young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

 Schumer said this week that both he and Graham are working on a blueprint plan designed to redesign immigration reform as soon as this year-a plan that includes stronger border security, fairer legal immigration for qualified candidates, and a condition-laden path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.

For the Democrats' sake-especially looking to the 2016 election-it would likely serve them well to get a deal done.

Republicans felt the wrath of Latino voters at the polls for opposing immigration reform steps proposed by Presiednt George W. Bush since 2007. Carlos Gutierrez, an adviser to Romney on Latino outreach, told CNN Sunday that Romney's failure to connect with Latinos was caused by hardliners in the Republican Party who were "scaring the heck out of them."

But while much has been discussed about the GOP's need to connect with Latinos going forward, the Democrats can't afford to alienate the growing support they received among Hispanics in this election by not going through on their promise to fix an immigration system perceived widely as broken.

Hispanic Journalist Maria Hinojosa noted to the Huffington Post this week that the Obama administration had deported a record amount of Latinos.

Speaking on the DREAM Act, Hinojosa indicated that she felt the directive was a turning point for young Hispanics, as it forced the Obama administration to take a stand on immigration in order to send a positive message to Hispanic voters.

"Americans desperately want leadership [on immigration], not plugging a hole here or fending off members of Congress there," she said. "This what I think Latinos are hoping to get this time around from the President. Ultimately it goes back to the citizens to push for that. That's what democracy looks like."

Latino activists are hoping that with their turnout at the polls last week, President Obama will now return the favor and keep his 2008 promise to make immigration reform a top priority in his administration. Doing otherwise could detract from Latino support that the Democrats could be banking on in 2016, the next round of U.S. presidential and other elections.

Eliseo Medina, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, told Yahoo! News that Latino voters had sent a message to Obama. "We expect leadership on comprehensive immigration reform in 2013," he said. "To both sides we say: 'No more excuses.'"

"Obama is going to return to the White House more energized to take these issues seriously," added Ben Monterroso, the director of Mi Familia Vota, a national group centered around turning out Latino voters.