Rep. Linda Sanchez and a cadre of Latino lawmakers from greater Southern California are working to stop a boycott of the 2010 Census by immigrant rights activists.
Sanchez, D-Lakewood, has joined the effort to convince immigrants, documented or undocumented, to allow themselves to be counted.
In hopes of accurately tracking population, Census workers are not allowed to report immigration status to other agencies. Census data are confidential.
But the issue currently circling is not so much about deportation concerns as pressuring Congress and the president to change U.S. immigration policy.
The effort to boycott the Census is being led by Miguel Rivera, head of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, to "prod the federal government to overhaul immigration laws," according to Wednesday's Wall Street Journal.
Rivera told the newspaper that at least 1 million people so far have agreed not to participate in the Census.
"I hope members of Congress will also sit down and look at these numbers [of potential boycotters] and say 'Hey, this is really serious,," Rivera said. "That means they have to fix [immigration policy]."
Sanchez was traveling over the holiday weekend and could not be reached for comment.
However, she and U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Los Angeles, and Grace Napolitano, D-Norwalk, issued a joint statement:
"As members of Congress from California, we have been working for years to ensure that the Census 2010 provides a fair and equal count of all our communities." they wrote. "Without an accurate portrait of our state, we cannot address the needs of our diverse population.
"A boycott would be a significant step backward in the progress we have made to make sure Latinos, and indeed, all minorities, are treated equally."
The lawmakers also explained that an inaccurate count can hurt communities because federal funding for schools, health care, job training and infrastructure is calculated in part by population.
In addition, the lawmakers pointed out, federal funding can hurt programs that directly benefit recent immigrants and their children, such as Head Start, daycare, school lunch program, public transportation and the emergency rooms used to treat those without health insurance.
Census data are also used in apportioning Congressional seats.
