Political Participation by Latino Non-Citizens in the US Article

Political Participation by Latino Non-Citizens in the US - Article Example As the discussion highlights  the study’s resultant figure for the Latino non-citizens’ political participation was an insignificant 3.6%. Though this meager figure indicated less participation, the study still was able to present other rooms for interpretation of political behavior. For instance, it was found that Latino non-citizens were â€Å"about one and a half times more likely to participate† in local non-political groups and may indicate a perception of non-political activities as â€Å"directly relevant and †¦ more fun†.This paper outlines that political activities and levels of participation were divided into two types: the less demanding activities (i.e., â€Å"wearing a button or displaying a sign, signing a petition or   attending a public meeting†); and the more demanding activities (i.e. â€Å"volunteering for   a political campaign and donating money†). The trend for both citizen and non-citizen was similar: higher participation rates for less demanding activities and lower participation rates for the more demanding activities. Though the same trend appeared for both, the citizens still have a significantly, higher participation rate against the non-citizens.  The aforementioned figure of 3.6% also opened discussions for the relevance of understanding the variables behind the differences in the level of participation among the Latino non-citizens. The study delved and shed light on this through elaborating how â€Å"results show that participation is not random†.... Though the same trend appeared for both, the citizens still have a significantly, higher participation rate against the non-citizens. The aforementioned figure of 3.6% also opened discussions for the relevance of understanding the variables behind the differences in the level of participation among the Latino non-citizens. The study delved and shed light on this through elaborating how â€Å"results show that participation is not random† (Leal, 2002, p. 369). Moreover, active participation lies on at least six of these identified variables: 1) how politically-informed non-citizens were; 2) the perception on the existing differences between political parties; 3) the depth of political interest; 4) possession or lack of â€Å"a strong ethnic identity;† likelihood of participation for 5) the younger generation; and 6) those planning to naturalize (Leal, 2002, p. 369). The fact that the younger generation was seen as more likely to participate in political activities seemed to correct a former assumption: â€Å"age is seen as a close cousin of education; people are thought to gain more information as they age and therefore, grow more likely to participate† (Leal, 2002, p. 368). The author pointed out that the proliferation by such younger participators among Latino non-citizens maybe due to the increasing anti-immigrant stance adopted by the American politics (Leal, 2002). In other words, the current political environment created a new breed of political activists among the Latino non-citizens. As long as this political environment persists, high political involvement should be expected from the young ones of the Latino immigrants. Implications Political knowledge.