The Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) recently joined a number of other groups in calling for a "complete" count of all Latinos and immigrants.
At the same time, they condemned the efforts of those people and organizations who are calling for a census boycott by Hispanics as a strategy to achieve comprehensive immigration reform.
"The partners in the ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! Campaign are committed to ensuring a full count in the 2010 Census," said Texas State Representative Rafael AnchÃa, Chairman of the NALEO Educational Fund. "This is only possible if we have the continued support of partner organizations across the country as well as leadership at the Census Bureau and the full support of everyone in the Latino community."
"A full count of the Latino population will help Latinos build a better future for their families," said Dr. Jesse Miranda, CEO of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC). "A full count is critical for the continued economic and political progress of the Latino community. An undercount of the Latino community will do serious damage to our families and our neighborhoods. By diminishing the representation of newcomers in our democracy, an undercount will also undermine efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform. Encouraging anyone not to participate in the Census is simply wrong."
The ya es hora, ¡HAGASE CONTAR! Campaign will focus on promoting the importance of the Census, educating individuals about filling out their Census forms and encouraging households to mail back their responses once they complete their forms. This phase of the coalition's work builds on the success of the ya es hora ¡CiudadanÃa! Campaign of 2007, in which 1.4 million Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs) applied for U.S. citizenship, and the success of the ya es hora ¡Ve y Vota! Campaign of 2008, in which a record 9.7 million Latinos exercised their right to vote in the presidential election.
The ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! Campaign is a coalition of national and local Latino organizations and Spanish-language media working to inform and motivate the nearly 50 million U.S. Latinos to fully participate in the 2010 Census. The campaign is lead by national partners, including the Dominican American National Roundtable, League of United Latin American Citizens, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, , National Council of La Raza, Service Employees International Union, and media companies Entravision, impreMedia, and Univision, and includes organizational partners at the national, state, and local levels.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/6/221430