Illinois’ Democratic U.S. Senator was re-elected. But Latinos are still concerned about immigration reform, which was tabled until after the election.
Second only to the economy, immigration reform was a top concern for Latino voters. Many supported Senator Dick Durbin who lead the charge to pass an overhaul before the legislation stalled in the House. Amelia Lopez from Chicago says that sealed her vote.
"Just from having family in the similar situation I really connected with that issue. And I applaud him for all of his efforts," said Lopez.
Durbin’s defeat of Republican Jim Oberweis doesn’t mean the issue is resolved. Durbin returns to a majority red Senate. That concerns Omar Espinoza who says Latinos need to be more aggressive about seeing action for immigration reform.
"Latinos really, really need to start unifying. Not just for the officials who get elected, but for communities themselves," said Espinoza.
Wednesday, U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez holds a news conference with local Latino leaders urging for executive action on immigration reform.