Today, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), an organization that serves the 16 million Hispanic born-again Christians in the United States and Puerto Rico, urged all Latinos and immigrants in the United States to take part in the 2010 Census.
Dr. Jesse Miranda, CEO of the NHCLC, explained why it is important the whole Latino population participates: “A full count is critical for the continued economic and political progress of the Latino community. An undercount of the Latino community will do serious damage to our families and our neighborhoods.”
The United States Constitution mandates that all people living in the U.S. participate in the Census, including immigrants. The data gathered from the census is used to determine everything from Congressional districts to number of bus stops in any given area. These statistics are also used for the allocation of federal funding for social and economic programs that benefit the Hispanic community, as well as other non-Hispanic members of the community.
“Pastors have a moral responsibility to educate our parishioners and flocks in actions that benefit our communities on so many levels,” said Dr. Gilbert Velez, NHCLC Chairman. “Accordingly, as America’s largest Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, we call upon all Latinos and immigrants, including people of faith, to participate in the 2010 Census.” He explains that “a full count will help our communities move forward on the path of political empowerment, prosperity, and transformation.”
NHCLC has joined as a partner on the ya es hora !HAGASE CONTAR! (It’s Time, Make Yourself Count!) Campaign which is a coalition of many large Latino organizations and national Spanish language media outlets working to encourage and educate the nearly 50 million U.S. Latinos on the importance of participating in the 2010 Census. Other partners include: Comunidad Presbiteriana Hispana & El Pozo de Jacob, The Jesse Miranda Center for Hispanic Christian Leadership, The Hispanic Mega Church Association, The Hispanic Pentecostal Congress and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The Campaign is lead by the NALEO Educational Fund together with Mi Familia Vota Education Fund, NCLR, and media companies Entravision, impreMedia, and Univision.
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