Immigration Group Urges Census Boycott

Hispanic Business
Sept. 8, 2009

BOSTON (UPI) -- Pro-immigrant groups are divided over how to plan to boycott the 2010 U.S. Census as a way to draw attention to immigration issues, officials said.

"Politics is about power and money, and by not giving your information, you'll be taking away money and power from the politicians," Fausto da Rocha, a Brazilian immigrant leader in Boston, said.

The boycott is being organized by the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders, which represents 20,000 churches nationwide, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Numerous immigrant-advocacy groups oppose the boycott, including the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, the Service Employees International Union, and the Brazilian Immigrant Center of Massachusetts, The Globe reported.

"It may create more antagonism against immigrants. This is not a campaign that makes sense," Eduardo Siqueira, a spokesman for the Brazilian Immigrant Center, told The Globe.

Census information determines how much federal money cities and towns receive for a wide-range of programs from school lunches to highway construction.

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