U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert Groves joined prominent Latino groups, labor and faith leaders and leading national Spanish-language media partners today to outline a historic campaign to ensure a full and accurate 2010 Census count of the estimated 50 million Latinos living in the United States.

Members of the coalition - called the ya es hora ! HAGASE CONTAR! (It's Time, Make Yourself Count!) campaign - previewed a series of public service announcements that will begin airing today on major Spanish language media.

The 2000 Census, despite producing a net over-count of the total population, produced an undercount of Latinos of around 3 percent (or one million people,) which cost billions in lost federal funding. The ya es hora, ¡HAGASE CONTAR! campaign will enhance the Bureau's efforts to count Latinos through a sustained and aggressive community education initiative to mobilize hundreds of local organizations.

At today's press conference, SEIU International Executive VP Eliseo Medina said this:

"Since the 2000 Census count, we've made enormous strides in building political empowerment of Latinos around the country and it's critical that we build off of that political consciousness to encourage full participation in the 2010 Census.< br/>

Given the growth of the community since 2000--especially in 'swing states' like Arizona and Nevada where results of Congressional reapportionment are being closely watched--an accurate 2010 count of Latinos could significantly influence politics in 2012 and beyond,"

For more from Eliseo Medina and today's event, watch this video:

For more, visit http://www.seiu.org/immigration