County executive makes census appeal to Montgomery Hispanics

Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett on Wednesday pushed for all county Hispanics to participate in the 2010 census, traditionally a hard sell for immigrants — both legal and illegal — wary of drawing attention to themselves.

County officials identified the 42 most difficult areas to count residents in the region, and will reach out to church leaders, apartment complex managers and employers to ensure compliance with the April population count.

“I want the census figures to reflect the growing and vibrant Latino community that we have here in our county,” Leggett said in a speech with Hispanic community leaders. “If we fail to count all of our residents, we could lose millions of dollars of funds for important county programs and services.”

With $400 billion in federal funding tied to the census, county leaders say they can’t afford for Hispanics to avoid the survey.

The county will work with community groups, such as CASA of Maryland and the Latino Economic Development Corporation, to coordinate a variety of events and education outreach.

Legal status has no bearing on inclusion in the census, which county officials have stated repeatedly.

“Answers are confidential, as the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s response with anyone, including welfare and immigration agencies,” the county said. “Census takers will visit households in May that did not return a questionnaire.”

Officials are planning a “census faith event” next month so church leaders can encourage their congregations to participate. And Leggett will travel by bus to a series of “census festivals” in Gaithersburg, Wheaton and Takoma Park in late March. More than 100,000 census fliers have been printed in six languages, according to county officials.

Conducted every 10 years, the census dictates U.S. House representatives for each state. The Census Bureau will send population counts to President Obama for apportionment in December, and states will receive redistricting data next March.

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