For Latinos, mixed signals | OregonLive.com

For Latinos, mixed signals | OregonLive.com

For Latinos, mixed signals

By Syndicated columns

April 04, 2010, 5:15AM

David BroderBy David S. Broder

WASHINGTON -- Census Day was a big day at the office of the National Council of La Raza, not only because it was the final day of the drive to reduce the chronic undercount of Hispanic residents but because it marked a time when Latinos in the United States could obtain the latest measure of their growing political power.

The largest and fastest growing minority group finds itself in an anomalous position this year. In some respects, its stature has never been higher, with the Supreme Court appointment of Sonia Sotomayor signaling that one more historic barrier has fallen to the talent and ambition of the Spanish-speaking community.

But as Janet Murguia, the veteran political organizer and former Clinton White House aide who is president of La Raza reminded me, "As long as the immigration issue is unresolved, we feel under threat."

The mixed signals that Hispanics receive from the larger community, ranging from the accolades for the first Hispanic woman on the high court to the threatening nativist rhetoric of Tom Tancredo at the first tea party convention, have produced an almost schizophrenic reaction among Latino constituencies and leaders.

While celebrating the gains they have recorded on such vital issues as health care, children's welfare and education from their alliance with Barack Obama, they fret about the backlash they see on illegal immigration and the growing gulf between their own community and most Republican officeholders.

It is a distinctly uncomfortable mood, despite the strong sense they share