The 2020 census revealed that Latinos grew from 8% of the Maryland population to 12% in the last decade, making representation in government more critical than ever, Latino leaders said Thursday.
“Representation matters because if we’re not present, we are an afterthought. We are invisible,” Del. Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-Prince George’s) said in a virtual discussion about Latino representation with Maryland Latinos Unidos, a statewide network of organizations and businesses that support Latino and immigrant communities, on Thursday.
During the past legislative session, lawmakers like Peña-Melnyk supported expanding Maryland’s Earned Income Tax Credit to provide relief for thousands of tax-paying immigrants, who were left out of the state’s RELIEF Act because they don’t have a Social Security number.
Immigrants who do not have a Social Security number contributed over $139 million in taxes over the last year, but are prohibited from benefiting from certain social assistance programs that require Social Security numbers, according to Peña-Melnyk. This bill accounted for the immigrant population.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Elizabeth Shwe over at Maryland Matters
