As Nevadans get ready to caucus this weekend, the nation should be paying attention. That鈥檚 because unlike Iowa and New Hampshire, where the first caucus and primary were held, respectively, Nevada鈥檚 population more closely mirrors the U.S. According to the , almost one-third of the state is Hispanic or Latino.
Nevada, like much of the West, also skews slightly younger. So, ahead of the Saturday caucuses, we talked with three Latino college students in Northern Nevada. They all say they plan to vote, but feeling like their voices matter is a challenge.
Here鈥檚 what they shared about some major issues they face in their lives.
鈥楧ifferent types of Latinos鈥�
Andre Anaya is a sophomore at the University of Nevada, Reno. He said there are many misconceptions about his community.
鈥淢exicans are a majority of the Latino community, but they鈥檙e not all of it. And there are a lot of different types of Latinos,鈥� he said. 鈥淐entral Americans, they鈥檙e different. Even South Americans, they鈥檙e different. And just trying to make those distinctions, I think is pretty important.鈥�
Anaya is half-Mexican and half-Salvadoran.
Chris Torres, a senior at UNR, agreed. His parents are from Mexico.
鈥淟atino people come from far and wide and really just kind of putting everyone in that box really diminishes the amount of voice there is there,鈥� Torres said.
Junior Nestor Lopez said he gets asked all the time, 鈥淲hat part of Mexico are you from?鈥�
Lopez鈥檚 parents came here from Guatemala.
On bills, health insurance
The students say most of the Latinos they know work to pay for their own college education, which isn鈥檛 all that unusual. But they say most Latinos also work to help pay family bills.
Torres said he鈥檚 lived in the same house with his mom for more than 12 years.
鈥淗ow much longer can we actually stay here?鈥� he asked. 鈥淗ow much longer until we actually have to cram myself, her, my two sisters into an apartment?鈥�
To help pay rent, he took on a second job. That, at least temporarily, cost him his Medicaid coverage.
鈥淚鈥檒l lose the health care, that was my kind of way of living. I was just like, 鈥榊ou know, I鈥檓 making more money, so I guess if something were to come happen, maybe I鈥檒l be ok,鈥欌�� he said.
After a lengthy appeal process, Torres eventually got his coverage back. Lopez, the sophomore, doesn鈥檛 have health insurance. But that isn鈥檛 as pressing as another contentious issue: immigration.
鈥淢y mom, she received a letter a long time ago from immigration,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e know where you live. You need to move, or we鈥檙e going to deport you. And we legit had to find another apartment.鈥�
Dehumanization of Latinos
All of these students know friends and family who鈥檝e been affected in this way. But for Anaya, there鈥檚 something else on his mind that鈥檚 becoming more critical.
鈥淲hat concerns me about the country is a push to a dehumanization of Latinos,鈥� he said.
That push he said is coming from politicians and even the President.
鈥淎nd that, in turn, causes their supporters to then have those opinions and then that influences their interactions with Latinos,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd it hurts. It hurts the community.鈥�
Lopez said the Latino community as a whole is misrepresented.
鈥淎 lot of Latinos struggle,鈥� he said. 鈥淲orking hard jobs, their kids speaking Spanish at home, English at school. And I just want them to understand that not all Latinos are bad. We don鈥檛 all sell drugs.鈥�
But negative perceptions about the community persist. And that, he said, blocks many people from sharing their opinions 鈥� or even voting 鈥� for fear of being misunderstood or harassed.
鈥淚 think one of the things that hinders them from voting or from sharing their experiences, thinking that my voice doesn鈥檛 matter, when in reality it does,鈥� Lopez said.
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