The facts: There are 50.5 million Latinos in America today. They are a population that constitutes one-sixth of our citizenry in America and, as such, play a vital role in our upcoming elections.

Our opinion: The size of the Latino block gives it sway in political platforms; however, all too often, it spins its wheels in the debate on immigration. While immigration is a large issue for Latinos, it overshadows, if not completely blocks, attention from other issues facing Hispanics.

It seems there is a heavily concerted effort these days in going after the Latino market in America. There is great commercial gain to be made from a community with a population of 50.5 million within our borders. During March, the National Basketball Association runs a 11-game Latina Noche program meant to capitalize on the population. On Sunday, the Miami Heat re-branded themselves for the night as ‘El Heat’ to show support. But, for whatever commercial gain is to be found, it is likely that the political gains of swaying Latino Americans will show stronger yields.   Latino Americans constitute one-sixth of America’s citizenry. It is a population that is young and politically dangerous because it is not loyal to party lines. Whoever meets the needs of Latinos, Democrat or Republican, will find themselves with a deciding vote.   On Saturday, local activists met with the Obama administration in a summit to discuss strategies to improve education in Latino communities. However, the summit quickly disintegrated into an illegal immigration forum. Latino Americans are so closely tied to the idea of illegal immigration that any debate about any issue facing them soon dematerializes into a discussion on an issue where we’re all just spinning our wheels. A disservice is done to the Latino community when we paint them with the same brush, by only considering one issue facing them.   The overarching issue facing Latinos is a lack of education, as it is a prime contributor to poverty and morbidity rates. The lack of education is a multi-faceted problem. Part of the issue is due to gerrymandering, the practice of placing boundary lines to exclude certain groups, by towns and cities. Through this discrimination, Hispanic-Americans are denied services by the towns, with one of these services being a quality education.   Another part of the problem facing Latinos is their outrageous poverty rates. In 2010, 26.6 percent of Hispanics were in poverty. To contrast, only 9.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites found themselves in poverty. They’re hungry and primed for action.   A portion of the population does not accrue a poverty rate of 26.6 percent without a systemic effort. Hispanics are forecasted to constitute 74 percent of the labor force growth between 2010-2020. This is not a community that should be impoverished ­- this is a community that should be thriving. However, reality being what it is, the economic barriers to achieving higher education are apparent.   If there is something we come to appreciate in college, it is the value of our education. Would you accept a life without education for yourself or your child? No, you wouldn’t. Don’t accept it here either. There is more than one issue facing Latinos today. Between now and November, be part of the force that makes that known.