Stephen Ansolabehere assembles the basic facts:
Hispanic voters will continue to emerge in Texas, California, and other states where Hispanics have long been gaining in numbers. But the tide of Hispanic citizens is rising in some surprising places as well. The states with the highest percentage of Hispanic citizens under eighteen years old are North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Carolina. And closing the borders will not appreciably affect the increasing numbers of Hispanics and Hispanic voters in the United States for a simple reason: the Hispanic population is already sizable and has a much higher birth rate than the white population. The policies that the parties pursue now on immigration, education, and other matters that particularly affect Hispanics will define electoral politics for generations to come.
Nathan Pippenger is skeptical of Romney's efforts to appeal to Latino voters:
More forward-thinking elements in the party realize that while hot-blooded rhetoric excites its white conservative base, the same rhetoric tends to alienate Hispanics. The long-term consequences of that dynamic could be damaging for Republicans, so in national politics, the party tries to woo Hispanics by stressing economic and cultural issues while downplaying immigration. But the effectiveness of this strategy has obvious limits: Eventually, immigration must be addressed.
(Full video of Romney's interaction with an undocumented student here)
The Dish 