I knew once health reform was tackled that the next controversial issue that would grip this country would be immigration reform. I also thought maybe President Obama would address the economy,  jobs, and even education reform before touching any type of overall immigration legislation. However, after what happened yesterday in the state of Arizona, immigration reform really needs to be a serious conversation in this country and Latinos, both documented and undocumented, need to raise our voices against the underlining and sometimes outright racism surrounding the subject.

An immigration bill passed Monday by the Arizona legislature now only needs to be signed by the state’s Republican governor to become law. Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 would make it a state crime not to carry proof of immigration status and would require police to ask about a person’s immigration status if there is any doubt.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) called on the governor to veto the bill, saying it amounts to “institutionalized discrimination and abuse,” and warned that other states could follow suit if the bill becomes law. He also called for a boycott of Arizona if the bill passed.

“We are going to be urging national organizations — religious, civic, labor, Latino, of color — to refrain from spending their dollars on conventions and in national activities in the state of Arizona,” Grijalva said. “There have to be hard economic sanctions for this.”

If the Arizona bill passes it would be the toughest state law against illegal immigration in the country.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) has joined Rep. Grijalva in condemning the anti-immigrant bill.

“The governor of Arizona should veto the bill, and if she doesn’t the president of the United States, Barack Obama, should assert the federal government’s preeminent role in regulating and enforcing our nation’s immigration law,” Rep. Gutierrez said today.

According to the 2008 U.S. Census, 30 percent of Arizona residents are of Hispanic or Latino origin. The state of Arizona was even part of Mexico at one time, so the bill is historically hypocritical.

The United States is and has always been a country of immigrants and I am sure they have not always been documented. It’s just now in the past few decades that these recent immigrants have mainly been people of color that really causes the conservative controversy.

There must be a way to implement fair immigration reform that allows honest and hardworking undocumented residents from legally sharing in the American dream.

Within the next two weeks the 2010 Census will be complete, however the race question has some Latinos wondering how to identify ourselves. I submitted my form last week and checked off three races: white, African, and Native American (personally counting Tainos from Puerto Rico as native Americans.) To represent all of my ancestry I could not just check one box. The race question has some Latinos either choosing white or black, or another race. What ever the choice eventually made, it’s most important to just get the form completed and sent back. So if you have not yet completed your Census form, get right to it. Every one really counts. This year’s Census will be extremely important for Latinos, so please spread the word and let’s get those forms sent back.

A majority of Latino leaders say this is the most important census for Latinos to date. However some are encouraging Latinos to pass on their participation. The act of not responding to the constitutional questionnaire will hinder Latino progress for the next 10 years.

More than $400 billion each year is distributed to states and communities from the federal government, based in part on census data. Census information also affects the numbers of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives.

With such importance behind the collection of census data, it is incredible to believe that a radical group of Latino leaders is playing dangerous politics that will directly have a negative affect on present and future Latino services.

Over the last year, Reverend Miguel Rivera has directed a national campaign to boycott the 2010 Census in the absence of immigration reform. Rev. Rivera has been quoted as saying, “We demand that the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama take action to legalize our undocumented brothers, so that they may participate in the census without fear.”

The reverend is playing into a deep-set fear of many undocumented immigrants. It’s important for everyone to know that Census bureau personnel cannot share individuals’ answers with anyone, including other government agencies. Revealing census participants’ personal information is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

The 2010 Census does NOT ask about immigration status or citizenship and will never require a Social Security number.

The estimated 48 million Latinos living in the U.S. mainland and the four million living in Puerto Rico play an important role in depicting the future of America. Every Latino must be counted to ensure all required services are provided to communities that need them most.

Latinos really can’t move forward until we mail the census forms back. For more information visit 2010.census.gov.

For more on the importance of the U.S. Census for Latino communities you can read the March political column of ElBoricua.com.