Latinos aim to ensure census will count

Census workers and Latino community leaders from around Georgia met Friday in Norcross to discuss ways to encourage Latinos, including illegal immigrants, to participate in next year’s census.

The effort, dubbed Georgia Census 2010 Latino Complete Count, aims to organize volunteer teams to do “whatever it takes” to ensure everyone is counted, said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, or GALEO, which is spearheading the initiative.

“I think it is critically important for all communities to make sure everyone in their community is counted,” Gonzalez said.

Census results are used to calculate distribution of federal funding and congressional representation. Gonzalez noted that Georgia has grown since the last census and could gain additional U.S. representatives if everyone is counted, giving the state more sway in Congress.

The 10-question census form asks about race and ethnicity. It does not ask about immigration status, or for a Social Security number or other identification, said Gerson Vasquez, a census worker.

The Constitution requires that every person living in the country be counted —- or face a fine.

About 20 representatives from faith-based groups, schools, businesses, Spanish-language media and community groups met Friday with census workers.