LOS ANGELES -  The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund, the nation’s preeminent Latino leadership organization, today issued the following statement on the President’s nomination of Dr. Robert Groves to serve as the next Director of the U.S. Census Bureau:

“We are greatly encouraged by President Obama’s selection of Dr. Robert Groves as Director of the U.S. Census Bureau.

“This position needs a professional who understands the science and substance of the Census, who understands the Bureau and who is fully committed to a process that counts everyone. Dr. Groves is an excellent
choice on all three counts. We look forward to working with him to guarantee that the 2010 Census achieves a full and accurate count of all Americans.

“Unfortunately, the Latino population has never been fully counted. The 2000 Census, despite producing a net over count of the total population, produced an undercount of Latinos of around 3%, or one million Latinos.

“Let us be clear: the only way to achieve a successful census is to count all Latinos.

“We applaud the Census Bureau’s plans to mount an intensive national effort to reach historically difficult-to-count populations. Ensuring an accurate enumeration of the Latino population, however, will require a comprehensive, community-based effort. The census is largely taken through the U.S. Postal System, and factors such as unlisted addresses, households with large families and high mobility rates contribute to persons being missed. The recession and large number of foreclosures in the Latino community will make counting this population even more
difficult in 2010.

“We are committed to helping the Bureau eliminate the undercount through our participation in the ya es hora, ¡HAGASE CONTAR! (It’s Time, Make Yourself Count!) Campaign. The Campaign – an unprecedented coalition of national Spanish-language media and Latino organizations - will promote the importance of the census, educate
members of the community about filling out their census forms and encourage households to mail back their responses once they complete their forms.

“We congratulate the President for his leadership, and we hope and expect that the United States Senate will move swiftly to approve Dr. Groves’ nomination so that we may begin the important work ahead.”