LULAC Iowa is the state organization for the national League of United Latin American Citizens. Iowa has four councils: 10, 304, 306 and 307. Council 307 was created in October 2011 to address and advocate for Iowa’s growing Latino community, specifically in the areas of jobs, education and health care. There are more than 880 local LULAC councils in the United States. These local councils hold voter registration drives, provide awareness to residents about language and immigration issues, and advocate for Latino-sponsored programs. LULAC was founded in 1929, and is the oldest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States. The organization was founded to empower Hispanics at a time when they were denied basic civil and human rights. Today, the organization continues to play a role in Latinos’ access to the political process and in equal educational and employment opportunities. Latinos and Hispanics are an ever-increasing part of the Iowa population. They comprise 5 percent of Iowa’s 3 million residents at more than 158,000 residents, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. That’s an almost 84 percent increase from the 2000 U.S. Census, when the number of Hispanics and Latinos in Iowa was about 69,000. Nationally, Latinos and Hispanics represent 16.3 percent of the United States’ 308.7 million residents.