Hispanic group: Immigration reform needed before 2010 Census

According to the AP, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Univision Inc., the League of United Latin American Citizens and SEIU called on the Obama administration to follow through on his campaign pledge to reform America's immigration policies.

**Some of you readers might recall that SEIU (Service Employees International Union) was reportedly involved in the Blagojevich Senate-seat selling scandal... Sources claim that an SEIU official served as the "go-between" for the Obama admin and Gov. Blagojevich...read more here.**


From the Census story...

Saying traditional census outreach will not be enough, Hispanic groups on Wednesday urged the Obama administration to follow through now on its pledge to pass immigration reform or risk an undercount of millions of people.

The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, Univision Inc., the League of United Latin American Citizens and SEIU announced a grassroots campaign that would supplement Census Bureau efforts to reach the traditionally hard to count Hispanic community. An estimated 1 million Hispanics, or about 3 percent of the U.S. population, were missed in 2000.

"Make no mistake about it: The census cannot succeed if Latinos are not fully counted," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of NALEO, noting that Hispanics make up half of the nation's percentage growth. "We are the future of the United States."

He said a halt to immigration raids is not enough and referred to President Barack Obama's pledge on immigration reform.

"That needs to be decided today, not in the 2010 census," Vargas said.

Ruben Keoseyan, publisher of La Raza newspaper, expressed concern about a mixed message where Hispanic groups work to build trust in immigrant communities only to have it destroyed if the government conducts a raid days later. "The federal government plays an important role in augmenting what we are doing," he said.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who addressed the groups Wednesday, stressed that all personal information in census forms will be kept confidential. He noted that Obama would soon nominate a new census director.

"We all recognize what is at stake," Locke said.

Census officials have acknowledged that tens of millions of residents in dense urban areas — about 14 percent of the U.S. population — are at high risk of being missed due to language problems and a deepening economic crisis that has displaced homeowners. They are devoting up to $250 million of the $1 billion in stimulus money for outreach, including an additional $13 million for Hispanic advertising.