LOS ANGELES, CA –The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
issued the following statement regarding the U.S. Senate’s vote to invoke cloture on the debate over the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. This vote led to a procedural ruling which halted an effort to require residents to answer a question on citizenship and immigration status in the 2010 Census:

“The NALEO Educational Fund strongly praises the U.S. Senate for its vote to end debate on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, which prevented the consideration of an amendment representing an unconstitutional effort to suppress Latino participation in the decennial Census. The amendment, which was introduced by Senator David Vitter (R-LA) and Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT), would have required residents to answer a question on citizenship and immigration status as part of the 2010 Census. This amendment was aimed at excluding undocumented immigrants, and perhaps all non-citizens from being counted in Census 2010 for the purposes of apportioning Congressional seats. By invoking cloture, the Senate recognized that these proponents were trying to use appropriations legislation to thwart the clear language of our Constitution, which mandates a count of all of the nation’s residents for apportionment purposes.

“We commend the efforts of the Senate leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), to end debate on the CJS appropriations bill, and to reject the Vitter-Bennett amendment. This represents an important first step to ensure the full funding of Census 2010. Census 2010 is less than five months away, and the Census Bureau is in the process of implementing the nation’s largest peacetime mobilization of federal personnel and resources that the decennial enumeration requires. If the Bureau does not immediately obtain the funding it needs, it will not be able to effectively carry out the complex set of tasks needed to keep Census 2010 on track and ensure an accurate count of the nation’s population. We urge the U.S. Senate to swiftly approve the CJS appropriations legislation, so we can achieve this critical goal.

“While we welcome the U.S. Senate’s cloture vote, we remain deeply concerned about efforts such as the Vitter-Bennett amendment, which would derail the 2010 Census and suppress the Latino Census count. A full count of the nation’s residents for apportionment purposes is a fundamental precept in the U.S Constitution. In 1868, our nation adopted the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that repealed the provision which only counted slaves as three-fifths of a person. Efforts to exclude any of our nation’s residents from the enumeration for apportionment purposes evokes this shameful legacy, and represents a reckless departure from decades of our nation’s Census practices, intended to ensure that every 10 years, we have the most accurate portrait possible of America.

“Latinos are the nation’s second largest and fastest growing population group, and we will not achieve an accurate Census count of our country without a full count of the Latino community. We cannot allow the accuracy of the most important source of data about America’s population to be jeopardized by unconstitutional attempts to suppress the Latino count and deter Latino participation in the 2010 Census. We will continue to be vigilant about these efforts and we urge policymakers and the nation as a whole to fight them vigorously if they arise. Our nation’s well-being and prosperity depends on it.”

About NALEO Educational Fund
The NALEO Educational Fund is the nation's leading non-partisan, non-profit organization that facilitates the full participation of Latinos in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.