Foreclosed Climate Leads to Fears about Census Results

Posted on July 2, 2009
Filed Under Foreclosure Homes | 1 Comment

The foreclosed homes climate is leading to fears about census results triggering Hispanic politicians to club together in an effort to persuade their constituents to fill in census forms. This is in response to strong criticism leveled against them that they hitherto have failed to count properly the minorities. In this current year the Census Bureau will campaign in 27 languages that include Spanish. There is a direct appeal to the Hispanics to get themselves counted.

Rebecca Blank the Under Secretary of US Commerce Department said this to a meeting of Latino politicians and leaders. This is the first time that the forms will be in both English and Spanish.

Arturo Vargas of National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Education Fund or NALEO said, “Latinos account for half the population growth in the United States. Every 15 seconds a person is added to the United States. Every 30 seconds that person is Latino. You cannot have a successful census if you don’t fully count the Latino community.” He added that NALEO will give priority and continue to be obsessed with the census till the forthcoming year. Vargas was speaking at the annual meeting of the body in Los Angles that concluded on Sunday 29th June.

The census determines the boundaries of the congressional districts for distributing federal funds. It also gives a sketch of the country. The foreclosure crisis could have a long lasting impression on the congressional districts according to many Latino politicians.

The evicted families are compelled to move in with friends and relatives and hole up in garages or basements. This crowding prevents them from being included in the counting. Another reason for the count of Latinos being low is that the illegal immigrants are afraid to face the census team despite the guarantee given by the Supreme Court that the Census Bureau is barred from sharing information with any other government agency – not even with immigration and tax departments.

The Census Bureau has teamed up with “community partners” trying to get over the cultural barriers that come in the way of counting. Latino evangelical ministers are further confusing matters by alleging that the government prevents illegal immigrant from voting. But Balnk negates these charges and said, “This boycott is so ill informed. You only hurt your own community if you are not counted in the census. You will not have the resources for your schools, you will not have the resources for your voting districts.”

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