Time Person of the Year 2012: 'Undocumented Immigrants' - Only Latino Candidates

TIME Magazine's editors are preparing to choose its Person of the Year and have created a shortlist of candidates that they will choose from.

"Undocumented Immigrants" are one of the candidates up for the claim of Person of the Year.

"An invisible population stepped forward on June 15, 2012, to stake its claim to the American Dream," TIME's Howard Chua-Eoan wrote. "On that day, President Obama declared that certain undocumented immigrants - a group simply labeled 'illegal' by many - would not be subjected to deportation, under broad-ranging conditions.

Chua-Eoan said immigration reform shifted, as more than 1 million undocumented young people who had been in the country for the past five years found themselves with new opportunities.

"What is more, the sympathies of other groups of people who have undocumented relatives - and thus are mindful of their plight - may have clearly shifted to a President on a campaign for re-election, as evidenced by the preponderance of Hispanic and Asian-American voters casting their ballots for Obama," Chua-Eoan wrote. "Chastened by the results of the vote, the GOP has warmed to a legislative fix, increasing chances of comprehensive reform."

Forty other people were nominated for the recognition and as NBC Latino pointed out, undocumented immigrants in the U.S. are the only Latino representation in the group.

"While Chris Christie, Bill Clinton and Karl Rove made the list, 2012 breakout politicians like Julian Castro and Marco Rubio did not," NBC Latino reported. "Jay-Z made the list, but not international music and philanthropic sensation Shakira."

Pussy Riot, Bashar Assad, Psy, Sandra Fluke are all nominated to be the person who most influenced the news this year for better or worse.

In 2011, The Protester was chose as the Person of the Year.

"No one could have known that when a Tunisian fuit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent," TIME said. "In 2011, protesters didn't just voice their complaints; they changed the world."