Hispanic evangelicals hold potent votes, experts say

For the Rev. Nino Gonzalez, last year’s contentious debate over immigration reform was a rude awakening — one that has propelled him into the political arena.

Mainstream white and black evangelical leaders initially denounced the bipartisan effort to create a path to legalization for undocumented workers. Some even argued for the roundup and deportation of millions of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S., the very people to whom Gonzalez ministers every day at Iglesia el Calvario just south of Orlando.

“I was stunned, shocked and surprised,” Gonzalez said of the initial reaction of those he thought of as his spiritual allies. “They turned their backs on the Hispanics.”*

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