For the first time in U.S. history, two Latinos are joining the presidential race under the Republican Party. Will either Marco Rubio or Rafael Eduardo "Ted" Cruz make it to the White House?

Hispanic Candidates

Rubio and Cruz are both Hispanics. Their fathers are among the Cuban immigrants in the country.

Rubio was born in Miami, Florida in 1971. His parents were natives of Cuba, but they moved to the United States before Fidel Castro went into power. Initially, he claimed that his family left Cuba during the revolution, but he retracted his previous words.

Meanwhile, Cruz was born in Canada in 1970 but grew up in Houston, Texas. His father fled from Cuba in the late 1950's and met his mother in the United States.

Latinos on the Hispanic Candidates

Cruz and Rubio's decision to run for president is already a victory for Latinos because it shows their progress in politics. However, it is a "bittersweet" one for Cristobal Alex, president of the Latino Victory Project, an organization that aims to grow Hispanic's political influence in the United States.

"On the one hand, we want to celebrate the success of our community in reaching a milestone. But on the other hand, these are two Latinos who quite frankly have turned their back on their community," he explained.

The two politicians are stiff when it comes to immigration policy, which is a sensitive topic for Hispanics. In fact, both are demanding for more deportations.

Unfortunately, their actions contradict the stand of the Latino community. Most Latinos extend their support to legalize the status of the 11 million Hispanics who fled to the land of freedom without proper documentation.

Jose Calderon, head of the Hispanic Federation, explained that the candidate's perspective on the immigration issue is a major factor that they consider when electing an official because this concern affects them on a personal level.

If either of the two makes it to the Republican nomination, their next challenge is to win the hearts of the Hispanics, which are mostly Democratic. Hispanics prefer the Democratic Party because of its full support when it comes to immigration reform.

Crus vs. Rubio

Although both are at odds with the Latino community, one of them appears to be more convincing. Ali Valenzuela, Latinos Studies professor at Princeton University, thinks that Rubio has higher chances of winning the Latino community compared to Cruz.

"Rubio is much more willing to embrace his immigrant heritage," he said. "To my ears, he sounds much more comfortable in his Latino skin. You don't hear much of that by Ted Cruz."