ABSTRACT
This chapter extracts the diverse trends, goals, and agendas associated with different actors and constituencies in this process, intersecting at different rates, arenas, and levels, and ultimately combining to shape the observed policy outcomes at particular moments in 'political time'. It elaborates upon three related analytical propositions in explaining Latino diasporas: First, Obama defied congressional opposition to assert his leadership on key policy issues through the remainder of his presidency; Second, the content, context, and timing of these policy shifts cannot be understood without considering the evolving demographic profile and political insertion of the highly diverse but increasingly integrated Latino diasporas in the United States and their relationship to US electoral politics; and the third, analytic proposition put forth that the series of actions taken by the Obama administration increasingly mobilized domestic and international constituencies in support of these measures. The chapter clarifies some conditions under which that influence can enter into the politics of US policy toward the region.
