Carassco strikes again

[JazminH]

Home > News
2010 Census: Politics counts, especially in wake of ACORN scandal
Officials fear tally will be tainted

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-bd-census-politics-04-oct04,0,2149033.story">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi- ... 9033.story</a><!-- m -->

Census Director Robert Groves is a by-the-books statistician, but he recently made a heartfelt plea to a congressional subcommittee: If politics taint the census, "we're in deep trouble ... as a Census Bureau, as a census and as a country."

Days later, politics were back in the forefront when that panel's ranking Republican came to Chicago to urge the census officials to end a partnership with the Service Employees International Union, which has traditionally backed Democrats. Partnering with the union "undermines the integrity of the census," said U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina.

From ACORN to illegal Immigration, the census has become a flash point for partisan bickering, a trend that worries officials and experts who say it could harm confidence in the count.

After weeks of GOP criticism, the census cut ties with ACORN, a community activist organization that faced allegations of vote fraud and the release of a videotape showing ACORN workers counseling undercover operatives about how to run a child prostitution ring.

Now some lawmakers, including Republican U.S. Reps. Mark Kirk and Peter Roskam of Illinois, say SEIU has close financial and operative ties with ACORN and cannot be trusted to conduct census outreach.

Census officials say they have confidence that the union can be a reliable partner and went ahead with a scheduled announcement of a campaign geared to Latinos that includes the union and Spanish-language media.

Union officials say they have received no funding from the census and dismissed the complaints.

Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant on census issues, said politics have always played a role in the census, including questions about the use of sampling that some say leads to better counts of minority communities.

"But it is more partisan than I've ever seen," said Lowenthal, a member of President Barack Obama's transition team on census matters. "It is very troubling. The consequence will certainly be a diminished public confidence in the process."

Meanwhile, the lightning rod of illegal Immigration has intruded into the once-a-decade count. Liberal Hispanic groups say they are frustrated that the Obama administration has not followed through on a pledge to push legislation that would legalize millions of illegal immigrants. Some are pushing for a census boycott.

So far, the effort has gained little traction. But with frustration building, Waukegan activist Margaret Carrasco said she plans to organize a boycott in the northern suburbs, where municipalities are facing an influx of mainly Mexican immigrants. Carrasco said she realizes the boycott could lead to a decrease in federal dollars.

<!-- e --><a href="mailto:oavila@tribune.com">oavila@tribune.com</a><!-- e -->

[fedupinwaukegan]

Many other community leaders are also saying they will ask their immigrant members not to fill it out either. The logic being....well I don't really know what the logic is. The government certainly feels that they must reach out to them.


U.S. Spends $26 Million On Spanish Census Forms


Last Updated: Tue, 09/29/2009 - 11:59am

In an unprecedented effort to reach out to illegal immigrants, the U.S. government will spend $26 million to send Spanish-language census questionnaires directly to homes for the first time in the decennial count’s history.

In past years, participants could request special forms in several languages—including Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese—but this will mark the first time that the government sends to entire regions census questionnaires in a language other than English.

More than 13 million bilingual (Spanish and English) forms will be distributed to neighborhoods with high concentrations of Latinos. More than one-fourth of them will be mailed in California with the highest concentration going to Los Angeles County. The South Florida city of Miami will also get a substantial amount of bilingual census forms in 2010 and so will Houston Texas and portions of Utah.

The costly language outreach is part of an effort to accurately count a population that traditionally has been difficult to pin down, according to the Obama Administration. In other words, illegal aliens who have violated federal law and aren’t exactly jumping at the chance to have contact with government authorities.

The nation’s powerful La Raza movement is undoubtedly thrilled that Uncle Sam is catering to the illegal population in the U.S., which is mostly Mexican and Central American. Latino rights advocates point out that, sending forms in their native language will win over the trust of immigrants who are especially suspicious of the government amid heightened immigration raids and deportations.

In fact, earlier this year the U.S. Census Bureau's deputy director (Preston Jay Waite) demanded that federal agents cease immigration raids during the 2010 count so the government can get an accurate tally of people in the country illegally. A California Senator (Democrat Barbara Boxer) also tried to block immigration enforcement during the census count by sneaking an amendment to a spending bill a few months ago.

That was viewed as a shameless effort to gain additional Congressional seats since counting illegal immigrants will undoubtedly give states—such as California, Arizona, Texas and Florida—with large undocumented populations additional seats in the House of Representatives after 2010.

At least one federal lawmaker from California, Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, opposes the unprecedented mailings of bilingual forms, pointing out that taxpayers should not have to carry the additional expense of providing the special questionnaires.

<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.judicialwatch.org">www.judicialwatch.org</a><!-- w -->

[fedupinwaukegan]

Our children brought home one of the fliers from the Welcome Center. They are having an evening with speakers about the 21st Century STARS program, U.S. Census, Parent/Teacher Conferences and Ways to Save for your child's future.

I still have children in the school system. This boycott would hurt an already needy system. The speaker is going to cover; How does the census help our school district and our city? How will the information be used? Who is counted in the census?

Interesting that the schools are going to cover this issue. Do they know about Margaret's proposed boycott? Who can talk to her about how costly this could be to our schools and community?

It will be October 15th, from 9:30 to 10:30 and repeated at 6:30 to 7:30 at the Welcome Center at 742 Greenwood Avenue. No phone number on the flier.

[fedupinwaukegan]

Any more news about this boycott? :?: :geek: I've been told that each person not counted could cost our community between $10 to $12,000. Costly.



The Washington Times
October 12, 2009 Monday

Hispanics urged to boycott census;
Many want Obama to act
By Stephen Dinan THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Angered by President Obama's lack of success in legalizing illegal immigrants, some Hispanic activists are urging all Hispanics to boycott the 2010 census as a sign of displeasure.

But they're vehemently opposed by major Hispanic groups, who say it's critical that all Hispanics - those in the United States legally and those in the nation illegally - be counted. Some groups also have asked the federal government to suspend immigration raids while census takers are in the field, hoping that will make illegal immigrants more likely to respond to questions.

It's just the latest trouble in what's turning into a rocky run-up to the census next year.

During a congressional hearing last week, a Democratic senator told Census Bureau Director Robert M. Groves that the American Community Survey - a yearly survey the bureau mails to a small sampling of Americans - pries too deeply and is so confusing that it appeared at first to be a case of mail fraud.

Meanwhile, a group of Republican senators is trying to have the 2010 census form include a question about citizenship. They are trying to set a precedent that congressional seats be reapportioned based on a count of citizens, rather than all residents.

The census issue is roiling Hispanic and immigrant rights groups. Major organizations and broadcasters are mounting a campaign for participation, but some activists argue that Democrats and Mr. Obama haven't done enough to earn Hispanic support for the effort.

"The only thing left for the immigrant to bargain is something they want from the immigrant, and that is that the person be counted. If that person refuses to cooperate, refuses to participate, refuses to comply, now he has a modicum of leverage," said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association.

The Rev. Miguel Rivera, president of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, is calling for a boycott specifically by illegal immigrants.

He said a count can't be accurate with so many people living in the shadows and that counting illegal immigrants inflates numbers in places where many residents can't vote. He said he fears those residents who are counted can't ever get true representation.

"The truth is that counting undocumented immigrants creates what we call ghost electoral districts, and that is completely immoral," he said.

He said Mr. Obama has moved too slowly to legalize illegal immigrants and has instead embraced tougher enforcement measures.

"We're the ones who are seeing what is happening to the members of our churches," he said.

Mr. Rivera and Mr. Lopez are being vehemently fought by Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), who calls a boycott "nonsensical and irresponsible."

"What they actually are doing is emboldening the very same people that are holding up comprehensive immigration reform, the very same people who would like to see immigrants leave the country," he said.

Mr. Vargas said the census is the third part of Hispanic leaders' longer-term strategy.

After the immigrant rights marches and legislative battles several years ago, Hispanic political leaders have pushed legal immigrants to apply for citizenship. Last year, they broadened that effort by asking new voters and all Hispanic voters to turn out in the presidential election. Next year, they'll try to show their numbers in the census.

"This is the most important census for the Latino community because it's the first census in which Latinos make up the nation's second-largest population group," he said.

NALEO has teamed with major Spanish-language media outlets to push for broad participation. One example is the Univision television network, which will include pro-census messages in its newscasts and its regular entertainment programming.

Still, some Hispanic advocates say there's too much fear in the immigrant community to conduct an accurate count. They're calling for the Homeland Security Department to suspend immigration raids for part of next year.

Joseph Villela, policy advocate for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said the Census Bureau requested in 1990 and 2000 that immigration law enforcement cease. He said no such request has been made this time.

"Given that there's no clear message from, in this case, the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau to specifically request [the Homeland Security Department] to stop these raids, then obviously folks are not going to trust any census workers," he said.

Raul E. Cisneros, chief of the publicity office for the 2010 census, said the Census Bureau will not ask Homeland Security to suspend raids. But he said his office is making a giant effort to try to boost participation with an advertising budget of several hundred million dollars and tens of thousands of partner organizations lined up to help.

"We're asking the public to take the few minutes to answer these very few questions, very straightforward questions," he said.

Congress reviews the questions and has oversight over the census, but some lawmakers have bristled at the broadness of the census. Earlier this year, Rep. Michele Bachmann, Minnesota Republican, touched off controversy when she told The Washington Times' "America's Morning News" radio program that she plans only to fill out the number of people in her household on her 2010 census form.

Mr. Rivera and Mr. Lopez said they personally agree with her.

"We tell people, and I'm the first to declare it, I absolutely will not cooperate, nor comply, with the Census Bureau nor the federal law," Mr. Lopez said, adding that if the bureau tries to impose penalties on him, "I am willing to suffer those consequences."

The Census Bureau's American Community Survey took fire from senators last week.

Sen. Roland W. Burris, Illinois Democrat, told Mr. Groves, the census director, that his former job as state attorney general gave him plenty of experience with mail fraud and that he initially thought the survey was a scam.

The American Community Survey is a long questionnaire sent each year to a small sampling of households. It's designed to give the government a sense of demographic trends in between the decennial censuses. Mr. Burris, whose daughter received a questionnaire recently, said the whole thing was too confusing.

"Do you all really expect people to send these back?" he asked Mr. Groves.

Sen. Tom Coburn, Oklahoma Republican, said he received an American Community Survey last year and filled out only half of the questions.

"There's nothing in the Constitution, in the first article, that gives the power of the census to do that," he said, adding that he would "defend anybody" who doesn't want to complete the long-form questionnaire.

Mr. Groves said he accepts the criticism that his bureau has not publicized the American Community Survey well enough but that fewer responses raise government costs because workers have to visit the homes to try to track down the answers.

The law says there is a penalty for not filling out the American Community Survey, but Mr. Groves said he knows of no prosecutions.
October 12, 2009

[fedupinwaukegan]

Catching up on the papers tonight and read this article. Waukegan is mentioned, but not the proposed boycott.


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-census-zones-04nov04,0,5031678.story">http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loca ... 1678.story</a><!-- m -->
chicagotribune.com

Hispanics urged to make census count
Cities plan outreach to allay fears of government probing that could limit federal dollars

By Robert Channick

Special to the Tribune
November 4, 2009


Census Day is still five months away, but communities throughout the Chicago area, hoping for a larger share of federal dollars tied to the decennial population survey, are scrambling to get minorities, low-income residents and other traditionally reluctant groups to stand up and be counted.

From Joliet to Waukegan, efforts are under way to increase awareness of the census and allay fears that may be associated with government contact. People will be urged to cooperate from the pulpit, from the schools their children attend, from barbershops and even from knocks on their doors. "Any community that has a large percentage of minorities has been undercounted," said Susana Figueroa, community liaison for Waukegan, which is 45 percent Hispanic. "It will be devastating if we don't get a full count of the population."

Taken every decade since George Washington was president, the Census Bureau projects 310 million in the U.S. in 2010. Some people may be a lot harder to find than others -- something the Census Bureau learned 10 years ago when about a third of all who received a questionnaire neglected to return it.

The problem is especially acute among Hispanics, many of whom may be wary because they are undocumented . By law, the Census Bureau cannot share information with anyone, including other federal agencies. Census takers are sworn for life to protect the data under threat of up to $250,000 in fines and five years in prison.

"It's very obvious they may have fears about participating in the census just because of their legal status, thinking that Immigration (and Customs Enforcement) may have their personal information and they may be deported," Figueroa said.

Getting a complete population count means a lot more than bragging rights on a highway sign. The census helps determine how more than $400 billion in federal assistance is distributed annually to state and local governments -- affecting everything from road construction to the Head Start preschool program.

According to a recent report by the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank, every person in the U.S. translates into about $1,400 in annual program expenditures.

"An accurate count brings financial support for services in the community," said Susan Olafson, an Elgin spokeswoman. "A lot of times people don't understand the overarching impact that this kind of an endeavor could have on a local community."

Touted as one of the shortest forms in history, the latest 10-question survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and will arrive in homes before April 1, official census day. Starting in May, census takers will go door to door to find people who have not responded.

Because the idea of somebody knocking can be frightening, one strategy to boost response paints filling out the form as the lesser of two evils.

"We want to make sure everyone is counted prior to an enumerator coming out," said Monica Vasquez, assistant executive director of the Spanish Community Center in Joliet. "They need to understand that if they don't return the questionnaire, someone will knock at the door."

Steve Laue, information services specialist at the U.S. Census Bureau's Chicago regional office, said it's all to try and ensure a complete count.

"No one would say the final count is a 100 percent, absolutely correct count, but it's our best effort," he said.

Overcoming suspicions is a tough task, all concede, and delivering the message about privacy and the government's motives can be very important. That's why pastors and barbers, and even celebrities using text messages, are helping.

"Those are organizations that people do trust, and they believe in," Figueroa said. "If their awareness comes through them, I'm sure that we're going to have a positive count of our residents."

The census has encouraged communities to form complete count committees -- authorized local partners who raise awareness and promote participation. To bolster that effort, a philanthropic coalition that includes Boeing Co., the Chicago Community Trust and the Joyce Foundation developed an initiative called "Count Me In," which awarded $1.2 million in grants to local groups focusing on hard-to-count communities.

In Joliet, which grew from 76,836 in 1990 to 106,221 in 2000, Hispanics surpassed blacks as the largest minority group at 18.4 percent. The Spanish Community Center in Joliet is using a $25,000 grant for an outreach campaign. Last week, fliers were given to food pantry clients -- the first step to encourage Hispanics to return their census forms.

"In hard economic times, everybody needs as much revenue support as possible," said Andrew Mihelich, the center's executive director. "Having a more accurate figure will benefit the Latino community in the long run."

The second-largest city in the state, Aurora grew from 99,581 in 1990 to 142,990 in 2000, with Hispanics making up nearly one-third of the population. Officials expect the 2010 survey to show upward of 180,000 residents, but only with a full count among its burgeoning Hispanic population.

"Being undercounted, in this economy, it just can't be done," said Sally Rutledge-Ott, vice president of the Aurora Regional Chamber of Commerce, liaison for the complete count committee.

Volunteers will comb neighborhoods expected to have a low response rate and hand out information. But with so much at stake, they don't intend to neglect the rest of the city.

"The other side of it is, we need John and Sue Smith to be counted as well," Rutledge-Ott said. "The complete count can't just be focused on the areas that weren't counted before, because then there's going to be another entire area that's going to fall off the charts."

More than a third of Waukegan's 87,901 residents didn't respond in the 2000 census, and officials fear a repeat would cost the city desperately needed revenue. They are mailing out 24,000 bilingual fliers with water bills in the next three months and using an automated telephone campaign in the days before the census is mailed.

With Hispanics comprising more than 40 percent of Carpentersville's 30,586 residents in the 2000 census, the village created a schism several years ago with measures aimed at rooting out and deporting those here illegally. But this fall, with housing vacancies increasing and its population stabilized at about 34,000, officials are working to find every Hispanic resident -- regardless of Immigration status -- to maximize the totals.

"In November, we'll really start putting fliers up, getting in touch with the clergy, focusing in on neighborhood leaders, to help us get the word out," said Cindy McCammack, Carpentersville's director of community development.

More than a third of Elgin's 94,487 residents are Hispanic, according to the 2000 census, but officials think that reflects severe undercounting. That total shortchanged the city by $120 in annual per-capita state tax revenue and much more in lost federal allocations, officials say.

In Elgin-based School District U-46, the number of students qualifying for free and reduced lunches increased from 17,721 in 2008 to 21,000 this year, while federal funding has not kept pace, officials said.

"I believe that School District U-46 has lost millions of dollars because the total population in Elgin has not been accurately counted," U-46 Superintendent Jose Torres said.

The Gail Borden Public Library in Elgin is employing a $20,000 grant from "Count Me In" to increase participation. Kicking off its campaign last month, officials unfurled what they think to be the world's largest census form.

"When they get it in the mail, at least they'll know what it looks like," said Denise Raleigh, the library's marketing director.

Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune

[Waukegan6th]

WTF?*%# WHY does Margaret Carrasco have ANY credibility? Remember when she put up signs alerting people to the whrereabouts of ICE agents and police? Now this? As a community, we need and require those fed dollars. What an a$$.

[fedupinwaukegan]

Waukegan shoots for 100,000 in new census
It's all about cash entitlements -- and everyone matters

November 11, 2009
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailtoMORAN@SCN1.COM">DMORAN@SCN1.COM</a><!-- e -->


WAUKEGAN -- When the U.S. Census Bureau wrapped up its head count of city residents in 2000, the number came in at 87,901, making this city the ninth-largest in the state.

But Susana Figueroa, the city's community liaison officer, said she believes Waukegan should have come in ahead of eighth-place Elgin, which reported 94,487 residents.

"I think we're above 100,000 now," Figueroa said Tuesday. "And even with the census in 2000, I think we were close to 100,000."

The problem is one faced by many communities, she said, particularly those with a large percentage of Latino residents: Mistrust of government leads to census forms being ignored.

In Waukegan, where an estimated 45 percent of the population is Latino, more than a third of the 2000 Census forms reportedly went unreturned. According to the Census Bureau, in some neighborhoods on the city's southeast side, fewer than 50 percent of residents mailed their forms.

The significance of an accurate count is more than a new number on a welcome sign. Census counts are used to distribute $400 billion in federal and state aid for things like unemployment relief, school lunch programs and road construction projects. Waukegan estimates that the allocation amounts to $10,000 for each resident counted.

In 2003, the city spent nearly $80,000 to conduct a special census to include residents added by subdivisions constructed after 2000. That effort added 1,976 residents to the rolls, which officials estimated at the time would bring in $180,000 annually.

Starting this month, Waukegan is launching an outreach program to make residents aware of the 2010 Census and recruit locals to serve as enumerators -- the workers who go door-to-door at residences that don't respond by mail.

The first step, starting this month and running through February, is to mail a census information sheet with residential water bills.

"The census is a count of everyone living in the United States, regardless of their ethnic group or legal status," the flier states in part. "Your personal information will remain confidential and will not be shared with anyone else!"

"We want to make sure people feel comfortable filling out the census," Figueroa said. "In a community with a large Latino population, the issue of dealing with the government and the overcrowding issues -- all of that can be a factor keeping people from filling it out."

Mayor Robert Sabonjian said one fear he's heard is that Latinos "have a hard time believing that all this information will be sequestered from the government. There's a lot of mistrust."

Federal law states that the Census Bureau cannot "disclose or publish any private information that identifies an individual or business," including addresses or GPS coordinates, Social Security numbers or telephone numbers.

Every person with access to census information is sworn for life to protect confidentiality, with penalties including up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

A stake in the census

Waukegan's information campaign on the 2010 Census will include a census message sent out via automated-caller system, and a variety of community groups -- including churches and soccer leagues -- have been approached about spreading the message.

Last Friday, job testing for census workers took place in the council chambers at City Hall, and at least six more sessions are scheduled through the end of the month -- between 9 a.m. and noon and again from noon to 3 p.m. on Nov. 13, Nov. 20 and Nov. 27.

More information, including a practice test, is available at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.2010censusjobs.gov">http://www.2010censusjobs.gov</a><!-- m -->. For more information on Waukegan's census efforts, call (847) 599-2511.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/1877155,5_1_WA11_CENSUS_S1-091111.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 11.article</a><!-- m -->

[fedupinwaukegan]

So the boycott is still on?




Home Features 1002 Counting Shadows
Counting Shadows

Written by Michael Puente PHOTO: Marta Garcia | 01 March 2010

Ten years ago, the Latino population hit a milestone by becoming the largest minority group in the United States. Since hitting that 35.6 million mark, the Latino population has surged past 44 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

That number is expected to increase, but if Margaret Carrasco has her way, it won’t go up as much as others would like it to – which could mean millions lost in tax dollars to municipalities and perhaps diminished representation in Congress for certain areas of the country.

Carrasco supports a boycott of the 2010 census count by undocumented Latino immigrants in an effort to pressure President Barack Obama and Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform. She’s helping to arrange local efforts to undermine the work of Latino groups who are partnering with the Census Bureau to count as many Latinos as possible, whether they’re citizens, legally resident non-U.S. citizens or undocumented immigrants. “I’m not against the purpose of the census. I understand it,” the says the 50-year-old immigration-reform activist from Waukegan. “We know what the implications are, but we want to bring attention to the ramifications on our community and how families are being destroyed” by the lack of a comprehensive immigration reform.

The Constitution requires the U.S. population be counted every 10 years. “Census data is used to determine how to distribute $400 billion in federal funding all across the country,” says Raul E. Cisneros, chief of the 2010 publicity office of the U.S. Census Bureau. “Distribution is based on population.”

In 2000, census forms were printed in 17 languages. This year, they have been printed in 20 languages, Spanish among them. On January, the bureau launched an effort to build participation in the Latino community.

Cisneros says the census form consists of 10 questions and does not ask for bank account numbers, Social Security numbers or immigration status. He says data on census forms is not shared with other agencies of the U.S. government. “All data is protected by laws, very strict laws,” Cisneros says.

Census data also helps draw up congressional maps, meaning some areas of the country with population gains could gain seats in Congress, while others may lose out if population diminishes or doesn’t keep pace with other areas. The overall importance and influence that census data holds is why some Hispanic groups feel the call for a boycott is reckless and undermines efforts to improve the lives of undocumented immigrants.

“Those calls for a boycott are immoral and irresponsible. Making sure that every immigrant is counted will not only help our nation, but it is vital to the future well-being of the immigrant community itself,” says Rosalind Gold, senior director of policy, research and advocacy for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).

Gold, whose group is based in Los Angeles, says census data is used to distribute federal funding to programs that assist immigrant communities, including new schools, adult education, healthcare, public safety and transportation.

“These are all issues that affect immigrants and their families,” Gold says. “If immigrants aren’t counted, their communities are not going to get the fair share of resources they need to address these issues. If immigrants want to build better lives for themselves and their families, it’s very important that they be counted.”

Gold says the call to boycott the census is coming from a small minority within the Latino community.

Small or not, the Rev. Miguel Rivera is determined to build support for the boycott. He he says undocumented immigrants won’t benefit by participating.

“It is immoral to ask the 12 million undocumented immigrants to come and step out of the shadows just to be counted, to use their numbers to get more money for the cities [from] which they are not benefiting equitably,” says Rivera, chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which represents more than 20,000 Hispanic Christian churches and faith-based ministries in 34 states.

Rivera sees the boycott as a pastoral obligation. He also believes participation by undocumented immigrants can actually work against them.

“It is very dishonest and very immoral for the people from NALEO and the [Census Bureau] not to even realize that [...] the census has been used against undocumented immigrants,” Rivera says. “The additional funding a community would receive because illegal immigrants are counted could be used against them by the hiring of more police officers and get more prisons built to have them arrested and jailed.”

Like Carrasco, Rivera says he feels Obama betrayed the community by not pushing through Congress comprehensive immigration reform in his first year in office, as he says the president promised. Rivera says Congress must agree to give “some type of legalization” and/or a “temporary protective status” for every undocumented immigrant, along with a permit to work in the United States, before the boycott is called off.

Rivera says U.S. citizenship for undocumented immigrants does not have to be included in the reform. He says reform needs to “give undocumented immigrants a chance to get out of the shadows, get a worker’s visa, learn the [English] language and start dealing with all the issues they need to deal with, including paying taxes.”

“If Congress complies with the promise, then we will have an excellent census count,” he says. “If not, it’s going to be a disaster, I can assure you.”

Cook County Commissioner Edwin Reyes says such a boycott will hurt the city of Chicago, the state of Illinois and Latinos in general. “We’re talking about millions and millions of dollars that would go to help service schools, hospitals, roads, bridges and job training. Latinos need to be on the receiving side of those entities. And we’re trying to get more representation of Latinos in Congress,” Reyes says. “So the boycotters would literally be hurting themselves.”

Census spokesman Cisneros isn’t interested in getting into a debate with boycott organizers. His main concern is getting the census going and processed by the bureau’s deadine, Dec. 31.

“It’s a challenge and we’re going to work at it,” Cisneros says. “We’re going to be very busy this year.”

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cafemagazine.com/index.php/articles/117-1002/747-counting-shadows">http://www.cafemagazine.com/index.php/a ... ng-shadows</a><!-- m -->

[Blackdiamond]

WHAT :?: :!: :?

[Harold]

.