Census 2000: What’s At Stake for the Latino Community

As of July 1997, the Latino population was concentrated in New Mexico, California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Colorado, and New York. Half of these states were among the top 10 undercounted. Latinos comprised 40 percent of the population in New Mexico, 31 percent in California, 29 percent in Texas, 22 percent in Arizona, 15 percent in Nevada, 14 percent in Florida, 14 percent in Colorado and 14 percent in New York.

The Latino population grew from 22 million to 29 million between 1990 and 1997. Today about 1 in 10 Americans are Latino. By 2050, the Latino   population is projected to grow to 88 million, or about 25% of all Americans.

Today there are 10.5 million Hispanic children, making them the largest minority group among children. In 1990, more than half of those undercounted were children, making an accurate count in the 2000 census especially critical to the Latino community.

Latinos will be unfairly impacted if the 2000 Census is inaccurate. Census data is used by educators, policy makers, and community leaders and directly affects funding for many programs critical to Latinos.

Accurate Census Information is Critical to a Number of Initiatives

• To enforce provisions under the Civil Rights Act prohibiting discrimination based upon race, sex, religion, and national origin.
• To allocate funds to nonprofit organizations for employment resources geared to assist new immigrants in their transition to self-sufficiency under the Refugee Education Assistance Act.
• To distribute funds for Child Care and Development Block Grants and Head Start programs, which serve the health and education-related needs of infants, children and families, many of whom are low-income.
• To fund the Adult Education Act designed to improve educational skills, complete secondary schooling, and provide job training and placement for adults.
• To allocate funds to the Bilingual Education Program to school districts for children with limited English language proficiency.
• To monitor and enforce provisions under the Voting Rights Act.