By EMILY C. RUIZ, Hispanic Link

As eventually happened with Vietnam, U.S. military involvement in Iraq is pulling Hispanics in two directions. Maybe three.

Numbers tell some of the story. The latest Pew Hispanic Center poll found less than a quarter of Latinos (24 percent) support U.S. troop participation. That's down from 31 percent in 2006 and 39 percent in 2004.

Pro-immigrant groups across the country are preparing to stage a series of marches May 1, pressing the White House and the Homeland Security Department to halt immigration raids and move forward on comprehensive immigration reform.

"Change is in the air," Juan Jose Gutierrez, director of the Los Angeles-based Latino Movement USA, promises.