President Obama owes a major part of his re-election to Latino voters in the United States.  Because he now has four more years in office, he also has time to thank them.  Many Latino voters want to be thanked with comprehensive immigration reform. After promising reform in 2008, Obama failed to pass any serious bill in his first term.  I have previously blogged about this promise that Obama did not keep.  If Obama and Democrats want the continued strong support of Latino voters, they will need to pass a comprehensive immigration reform in the next four years.

The next question that needs to be asked in terms of immigration reform, is what aspects of immigration will be addressed? One major piece of legislation that I expect to be passed is the DREAM Act.  This will open up many options for undocumented students who want to pursue degrees of higher education in the United States.  The state that will most directly benefit from this is California according to a 2010 study by the Migration Policy Institute. We may need to wait for a couple months before the DREAM Act is passed, but there is an option for undocumented immigrants now.  The deferred action plan put into effect by Obama is most likely going to gain applicants now that Obama has been re-elected. Some people may have been hesitant before the election to apply because if former Governor Mitt Romney had been elected there was no guarantee that he would have allowed the deferred action plan to remain an option for undocumented immigrants.

On the heels of Obama’s re-election many questions still need answering.  Will Obama come through for his Latino supporters and enact immigration reform? Only time will tell.  Comment with your opinions.