Clearly, the positions that presidential candidates take on
Puerto Rico issues will influence the increasingly important
group of voters of Puerto Rico origin in the 50 States. However,
presidential candidates may not have realized that what they say
about Puerto Rico can also have a significant impact on Hispanic
voters in general. First and foremost, Hispanics wish to be
acknowledged as Americans --that, despite our origin, we are a
part of "We the People of the United States." As an immigrant
rights advocate, Julissa Reynoso pointed-out that "to many
Americans, Latinos' roots are in Latin America and Mexico, as
though having some connection with Latin America trumps any
possibility of becoming a 'true' U.S. citizen." Karl Rove was
keen to recognize the problem of "Hispanicness" being associated
to foreignness regardless of citizenship and stated before the
National Council of La Raza that the debate over immigration
reform had "clouded the views of some people in America and led
them to fail to understand