Statistics from the Pew Hispanic Center indicate that Mexicans have gained in power, in spite of the fact that half of them remain in this country without documents. Since 1970, immigration to the United States has risen 17 times. The United States is the Promised Land for many from Latin American countries, including the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, and Peru. In just a couple years, Latin American immigrants and their children will constitute the majority population in the U.S. states on the Mexican border. For quite a while now, both Republicans and Democrats have sought the support of this demographic group. After all, it is Latino people whose votes decide the outcome of the elections.

The release of the report by the Pew Hispanic Center coincided with the announcement by President Obama of plans to reform the American immigration system. The president wants to open the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who are living in the United States, provided that they pay a fine, all the back taxes they owe, and learn English. It is hard to imagine the success of the yet another attempt to reform the immigration system without the Latino support.

Latinos have the biggest population of immigrants living on the verge of normal social life, and dreaming of obtaining a green card. It is the Latinos whom we see at each and every pro-immigration rally. Thanks to their numbers and increasing power, it is they who can contribute to breaking the last opposition to immigration reform on Capitol Hill. They consist of the largest and most politically significant ethnic groups in the United States. For these reasons alone, not to mention certain cultural similarities, such as the commitment to the Catholic Church and a love of soccer, that is worth while for us Poles to cooperate with them.

The figures from Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Pew Hispanic Center report prove, yet again, that the long awaited reform of the immigration system is not possible without the support of the Latino lobby. The Polish organizations, especially the Polish American Congress (PAC), should be aware of this fact and stop avoiding cooperation with Latinos asserting that there are fundamental differences between us.

When it comes to the immigration reform, which will give the thousands of Poles who are living in the United States without papers legal status, we share a common goal with the Latino population. It makes a great deal of sense to engage and cooperate with them, to build coalitions, to fight for our common goal.