By Dennis Valera A recent TIME magazine cover story asserted that the Latino vote will decide Novembers

presidential election. As the date approaches, one group has been singled out as the quintessential swing vote: Latino evangelicals. The Latino evangelical community has grown to become one of the biggest u.demographics in the United States. According to a 2008 Pew report on the U.S. religious landscape, of the 82.3 million SALGUERO people who identify themselves as evangelicals, 7.5 million are Latino.

Hispanic evangelicals want to hear more on the issues

mental issues. Immigration is a key one. Two major related events occurred this month. First, on June 12 a group of immigration leaders came to Washington to identify six principles they believe should guide comprehensive and humane reform. provided no specifics.

DOING RIGHT THING

Other key issues are education and jobs. In a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Latino unemployment rate for May was 11%. The U.S. unemployment rate for May was 8.2%. Rodrguez expressed his concerns over the gap and the fact that 50%of young Latinos never graduate from high school. Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president Richard Land says the candidates just need to be doing the right thing. The right thing is to be pro-life, the right thing is to be pro traditional marriage and the right LAND thing is to be for comprehensive immigration reform. The life issue and the marriage issue are very important to evangelicals. Latino evangelicals voted in 2000 and 2004 for Republican candidates. In 2008, however, 57% voted for Obama. I think that any candidate, Republican or Democrat, that does not take the broad platform of Hispanic evangelicals seriously does so at his or her peril, said Salguero. To ignore us would be, I think, a political misstep.

ITS A JUSTICE ISSUE

Three days later, Obama announced his deferred action measure allowing undocumented immigrants age 30 and under who arrived here before age 16 to remain for two years without fear of deportation. Those eligible may apply for work permits and then, with the incumbent presidents concurrence, renewing their status. Identifying immiRODRGUEZ gration as a justice issue, Rodrguez said Obamas campaign will take advantage of this position, of course, and use it as a tool to engage Latino evangelical voters. When asked about Obamas announcement in a Face the Nation interview, Romney dodged the question five times, saying only that he wants to implement a long-term solution. At a National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) conference, he mentioned a long-term solution again, but

IMMIGRATION IS KEY
Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coaltion (NaLEC), tells Hispanic Link, I really dont think anyone can say which way theyre going to turn right now. Well be listening very closely to President Obama and Governor Romney. National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) president Samuel Rodrguez says their vote will coalesce around a number of issues and both parties have an opportunity right now in engaging this electorate. At the end of the day, its going to be which party addresses funda-

By Elizabeth de Armas On June 25 the Supreme Court ruled that sentencing a juvenile to life in prison without parole is unconstitutional. The 5-4 decision nullifies laws in 29 states for violating the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth Amendment. Youth under the age of 18 who have been convicted of murder cannot be given an automatic life sentence. Judges must consider the juveniles youth and nature of the crime before a minor goes behind bars without the possibility of being let out.

Court strikes down juvenile life sentences without parole

ity opinion said, We therefore hold that mandatory life without parole for those under age of 18 at the time of their crime violates the Eighth Amendments prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments. This decision is directly related to two separate court cases Kuntrell Jackson v. Arkansas and Evan Miller v. Alabama males who were sentenced to life in prison without parole when they were 14, after being convicted of capital murder.

ing their youth participated in this study. The survey targets life before prison and life while incarcerated.

14.3% WERE HISPANIC

Some 1,500 lifers completed the survey and it was found that 14.3% of these individuals were Hispanics who are in prison without parole. Approximately 300 Latinos could be eligible for a resentence with this court decision. In a number of states the number of Latino juveniles is growing increasingly significantly so this will benefit some Latinos going forward with their cases, Mauer said. Many juveniles sentenced to life without parole first suffer from extreme socioeconomic disadvantage, and are then sentenced to an extreme punishment deemed unacceptable in any other nation. Benny Agosto, president of the National Hispanic Bar Association, is also on board with this court decision.. It will impact some Hispanics and there has to be some opportunity of rehabilitation, he said. When it comes to cruel and unusual punishment we believe it is fair to give kids an opportunity under whatever circumstances to pay for the punishment and then be able to join society.
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MAJOR STEP FORWARD

The court did not address whether this ruling would only apply to future cases or affect previous cases that have already been closed. If this decision were to affect past verdicts that have already been decided, over 2,000 individuals who were sentenced to life behind bars before their 18th birthday, would be preapproved for a resentence. Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, said that this ruling is a major step toward justice for juveniles. Although this court decision encompasses juveniles from a multitude of ethnic backgrounds, Hispanics are a group that will be affected. In a national survey conducted by the Sentencing Project, The Lives of Juvenile Lifers, 2,300 prisoners who committed crimes durJune 27, 2012

ATTORNEYS PROVIDED
Equal Justice Initiative, a private nonprofit organization, provides attorneys to represent low-income individuals who have been treated unfairly in the legal system. This organization, located in Montgomery, Alabama, requested the court ban mandatory life sentences for youth who were convicted of their crimes at 15 or younger. This ruling coincides with previous decisions made by the court including banning the death penalty for juveniles in 2005 and ruling out life in prison without parole for adolescents convicted of non-homicide crimes in 2010. Justice Elena Kagan, who wrote the majorHispanic Link Weekly Report