I think my IQ went down about 50 points after reading this story, but apparently some Latino leaders are urging undocumented immigrants and others to boycott the 2010 Census as a protest against Congress' failure to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
http://online.wsj.com/...
[Latino leaders] Messrs. Rivera and Lopez say they are frustrated with Congress's inaction on a comprehensive immigration overhaul and alleged injustices toward undocumented members of the Latino community. By being counted, they say, undocumented immigrants are being used to get funding for federal programs for which many of them aren't eligible.
"I hope members of Congress will also sit down and look at these numbers [of potential boycotters] and say 'Hey, this is really serious,' " Mr. Rivera said. "That means they have to fix [immigration policy]."
http://online.wsj.com/...
I don't think I'm being dismissive in stating that this is obviously counterproductive. The Census count is used to determine representation in Congress, and if fewer people are counted in areas with large populations of undocumented immigrants, then those Congressional seats will be reallocated to places that do not. Similarly, federal funds that might have gone to ameliorate problems in areas with large numbers of undocumented immigrants will be similarly reallocated to other areas of the country that do not.
Fortunately, there are cooler heads in the Latino community who see this:
The boycott effort is also raising the ire of Latino groups, including the National Association of Latino Elected Officials. Arturo Vargas, the organization's executive director and the acting vice chairman of the government's 2010 Census Advisory Committee, called it "irresponsible" and said the undercount "is permanent for a decade."
"The irony is that the enemies of immigration reform, this is what they want," Mr. Vargas said. "They don't want these people counted."
http://online.wsj.com/...
But, hey, I guess they will have made their point, right?