Essay --

Citizens of the United States are traditionally given unlimited freedom of speech, press, and assembly. These American privileges allow interest groups to express their perspectives by using the media and other sources that are accessible to the public. In definition, an interest group is a group of individuals who organize to influence the government’s programs and policies. The main goal of these groups is to have the government both listen and respond to their interests (Shin 243). Historically interest groups have and continue to play a crucial role in American politics; especially since it is an effective form for citizens to interfere with government decision making. Two current interest groups in the United States are the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza. These particular interest groups demonstrate how interest groups directly and indirectly influence public opinion and the political process. Interest groups representation is based on attitude and not the United States population geography. I chose to investigate national immigration interest groups that focus on Hispanic individuals that are living in the United States. According to the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda (NHLA) website, it was established in 1991 as an unbiased association of major Hispanic national organizations that distinguishes Hispanic Leaders all over the nation. Their mission is to unite Latinos around the country and encourage the Hispanic community to become more involved with our country’s affairs. Hispanic leaders of NHLA raise public awareness of major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole (â€Å"NHLA†). In other words this group centralizes its ideas around Hispanic civil rights a... ...as run on money and unfortunately the less money an interest group has then the less likely it will be addressed to either the public or the government. But since both NHLA and NCLR have multiple members and offices then they get their voices herd. In conclusion, the missions of these two groups clearly want to see the government taking action when it comes to their concerns and they know that by informing the public could possibly help gain more supporters for their issues; more supporters means more successful outcomes for the NHLA and NCLR. I decided to research the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and the National Council of La Raza because I was interested in learning about interest groups that could possibly influence me and people of my race or ethnicity. I am not part of an interest group but this research has influenced me to want to participate in one.