New Hispanic-Immigrant Liaison in Fort Wayne
By: Nadia Bashir
Updated: June 4, 2009
Palermo Galindo is Fort Waynes new Hispanic-Immigrant Liaison. Galindo beat out 27 other candidates for the position. The liaisons role is to connect all immigrant/refugee communities in the city with city resources.
Galindo is originally from Mexico. He believes his new job brings him full circle. Galindo believes as an immigrant he went through the process of struggling to find a new life and he is now able to help others in the same role.
A selection committee made up of diverse backgrounds narrowed down the field of candidates for Mayor Tom Henry. The Mayor made the final selection.
Galindo has a background of working in public outreach including working for non-profit groups.
One of Galindos jobs will be to help to obtain an accurate count of how many Hispanics are in Fort Wayne for the 2010 census. The last census in 2002 reported about twenty-thousand Hispanics in our area, however, it is believed there may be as many as twice that number here. Undocumented residents are often fearful of being counted in census reports. It is hoped Galindos ties to the Hispanic community will ease fears and help to obtain a more accurate census count.
Federal funds are distributed to the city based on census numbers.
