--Presentation of White Paper “The State of Latinos: Census 2010” Highlights the Importance of Being Properly Counted—

Washington DC, July 9, 2009—Grupo Salinas, Fundación Azteca America and the International Center for Journalists presented yesterday a high-level panel discussion about the challenges that face the Latino community, including the importance of participation in the 2010 Census and the passage of a successful Immigration Reform Bill.

The white paper presented by University of Denver professor Debora Ortega, in conjunction with Grupo Salinas and Fundación Azteca America, made a series of recommendations, including the suspension of immigration raids during the summer months of 2010, when enumerators canvass neighborhoods for follow-ups to census questionnaires.  The report also proposes coordinated informational programs on all four national Spanish-language television networks: Azteca America, Univision, Telefutura and Telemundo to increase trust in the questionnaires and inform in a step-by-step manner how to properly fill out the forms. Finally, the report recommends continued hiring of culturally-relevant local workers at the U.S. Census.

“A complete census count is the single most important issue for our community,” said Luis J. Echarte, Chairman of Fundación Azteca America and Azteca America Network. “As a critical step in our democratic process, we will continue to dispel any misconceptions about the process and encourage our community to be accurately counted."

The 2010 Census is an essential tool for distributing federal, state and local budgets. It is also fundamental for representative participation in the U.S. Congress.
The message on the census was echoed by many of the panelists during the event.

“Wherever we can, we should tell Latinos to participate (in the Census). This is a matter of civic participation,” said former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutiérrez. “Community groups, media and radio personalities that are vocal on all issues should be vocal about the Census.”

“Our goal is to count everyone. And we count on our partners to fulfill this goal,” said Marilia Matos, Associate Director for Field Operation of the U.S. Census Bureau.

On the issue of immigration reform, the panelists were optimistic that a working solution could be achieved soon, hopefully in the first half of next year.

“We have never had prosperity in this country without immigration,” said Gutiérrez.

Also present on the panel was Noticiero Azteca America correspondent Armando Guzmán.

The complete white paper: The State of Latinos: Census 2010 can be reviewed at www.fundacionaztecaamerica.org, and the archived blog from the event is available at ijnet.org.