The 2010 Census: Immigrant Community Participation

 Pennsylvania Immigration & Citizenship Coalition
 
2100 Arch Street, 5th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
 
Phone: (215) 832-0636   Fax: (267) 256-2119   email: admin@paimmigrant.org
 
 
Media Advisory
 
 
 
For Immediate Release: Thursday, March 4th, 2010                  
 
Contact: Regan Cooper Cell: 267-240-6445  Email: regancooper@paimmigrant.org          
 
 
 
The 2010 Census: Immigrant Community Participation
 
 
 
Philadelphia, PA – Immigrant and limited English speaking communities are partnering with the U.S. Census Bureau to help achieve a complete and accurate count of our growing population in 2010.  Local non-profits and congregations are working to increase the number of participants through community outreach and education.  Speakers will discuss the importance of strong census participation for immigrant communities and address fears about confidentiality. The event is co-sponsored by the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania.
 
 
 
WHAT:           Panel on Promoting Immigrant Community Participation in the 2010 Census
 
WHEN:          Thursday, March 11th 4:00 - 5:30 PM
 
WHERE:        United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania, 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia
 
WHO:            
 
                      Christopher Chaplin is Co-Chairman of the Philadelphia Caribbean Complete Count Committee which is partnering with the African Complete Count Committee for a series of community events March 12-14.  He is also Co-Chairman of Team Jamaica Bickle and works in the communications field, including as Co-Publisher of Caribbean World News.   
 
Zeina El-Halabi is the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Arab American Development Corporation (PAACDC), which serves as a Questionnaire Assistance Center and a testing site for census job applicants, and provides outreach to churches and mosques.
 
Anuj Gupta is the Chief-of-Staff/Deputy Commissioner - Department of Licenses & Inspections.   He has done extensive work on the City's language access program and coordinated other efforts to attract new immigrants to Philadelphia including the International Philadelphia workgroup. The City launched Philly Counts in November to raise awareness of and boost participation in the 2010 Census, particularly among the city’s hardest to count residents.
 
Julissa Gutierrez is the New York Director of Civic Engagement for the NALEO Educational Fund, which is sponsoring the Ya Es Hora Hagase Contar campaign, to promote a complete count among Latino communities through community education.
 
 
 
“In addition to language and cultural barriers, the dramatic increase in immigration enforcement during the last few years has made immigrants— both documented and undocumented — wary of government agencies and less likely to participate in the Census.” said Regan Cooper, Executive Director of PICC. “We are sponsoring this event to remind our communities that census participation informs both political representation and funding decisions for new hospitals and schools, senior centers, roads, child care and job training.  Each person uncounted could result in a loss of over $11,000 to the local community.”
 
 
 
The Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition is a coalition of 50 organizations, including service providers, congregations and unions, that seeks to educate and develop support for fair policies that welcome and sustain immigrants, migrants, refugees and other new Americans.
 
 
 
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