Press Release

Today, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) launched its Twenty10 Project initiative, with the release of the first set of multilingual educational materials about Census 2010. The fact sheets provide basic information about the importance of the Census, including a general timeline and language assistance options. It is available in English and 13 other languages – Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Punjabi, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese.

Glenn D. Magpantay, AALDEF Staff Attorney and Director of the Twenty10 Project said, “With so much at stake, an accurate count of the Asian American population is essential.” Census data is used as a basis to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds for schools, health care and immigrant services, the enforcement of civil rights laws, the distribution of political power, and the availability of bilingual ballots.

In preparation for Census 2010, AALDEF will play a central role in carefully monitoring Census operations and advocating for crucial changes to Census policies. AALDEF has already begun working with many regional Census officials to ensure that the hiring of partnership specialists and other outreach staff adequately reflects the local ethnic communities. AALDEF will advocate for stronger enforcement of the confidentiality of census information, expansion of the Telephone Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) program, and relaxed immigration enforcement during enumeration.

A decade ago for Census 2000, AALDEF spearheaded several initiatives to ensure an accurate count of the Asian American community. Such key initiatives included securing a moratorium on immigration raids during peak census periods and eliminating citizenship requirements in the Census Bureau’s hiring practices. In addition, AALDEF conducted numerous community and legal trainings throughout the country to further educate the public on the Census.

Over the coming months, AALDEF will also provide comprehensive trainings to community groups and social service agencies interested in learning more about the Census. AALDEF staff members will be available for speaking engagements as well as in-depth trainings and workshops. For more information, please contact AALDEF at 212-966-5932. These multilingual fact sheets can be downloaded online at:

• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Arabic.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Bengali.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Chinese.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_English.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Gujarati.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Hindi.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Japanese.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Khmer.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Korean.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Lao.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Punjabi.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Tagalog.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Urdu.pdf)
• (/uploads/pdf/Census_Vietnamese.pdf)

For more information:
Julia Yang
Voting Rights Assistant
212.966.5932 ext. 217
jyang@aaldef.org

Bryan Lee
Voting Rights Public Education Coordinator
212.966.5932 ext. 251
blee@aaldef.org