Lack of info -- not fear -- hurts census
Let's get past the stereotypes and get down to business on this census thing. I'm talking about the push to accurately count Hispanics during the 2010 U.S. census. Though organizers and many in the media like to say that the biggest barrier to counting Hispanics is fear on the part of illegal aliens, it's not all about fear.
For the uninitiated, the U.S. census has been taking the most accurate count of everyone it can get its hands on since 1790. The boundaries of political districts and the public funding for a million different things, such as social services, are decided based on census figures. But over the years, there has been a recurring argument about whether illegal aliens and other noncitizens, such as legal permanent residents, should be included in the tally.
The most recent dust-up came courtesy of Sen. David Vitter of Louisiana. Completely ignoring the fact that Congress over a year ago approved every question on the surveys being printed by the U.S. Census Bureau, Vitter decided that funding for the census should not be released unless questions about citizenship and immigration status were included. His real aim was to make sure congressional districts would be redrawn solely on the basis of the population of American citizens -- and did not include noncitizens.
This upset Hispanic advocacy organizations struggling to mobilize a "difficult-to-reach" community to make sure they're counted. Last week, the Senate ignored Vitter's amendment and the whole case was closed. Again. (A Census Bureau spokeswoman said they go through this dance every 10 years!)
Meanwhile, the big story about this must-count "hard-to-reach" Hispanic population, whose numbers have so quickly swollen, remains centered on fear. Fear that illegal immigrants and their families -- even those members who are legal residents -- will opt out by making it impossible for any "official"-type people to find them.
Yes, there are millions of illegal aliens residing in the U.S. Guess what? Millions of them are not of Latin-American origin. And early estimates, based on 2000 census figures, already predict that the nation's Hispanic population increased to 50 million from 38 million, with U.S.-born "second-generation" Hispanics like me driving the growth.
But the real story is not about fear. Hispanics tend to be undercounted for the same reason many other Americans -- whites, blacks, Asians, etc. -- are undercounted: a simple lack of awareness.
"The number one thing I hear when I'm out in the community is 'what the heck is the census?' " said Elisa Alfonso, regional census director for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund's Chicago office. "This 'illegal fear' thing is nothing but a distraction."
The organization started its census outreach into the Chicago area's metro and suburban Latino neighborhoods in August.
"The main barrier continues to be what it has always been -- not just for Latinos but for the populations as a whole -- lack of information about the census," Alfonso said. "I've been all over the region, and I'm sorry to tell you that though some of us think of being counted in the census as a lofty civil rights issue, that does not resonate with people. I'm going to churches, community centers and schools where the organization leaders and even the teachers don't know what the census is."
That, too, will change. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 opened the way for about 2.7 million immigrants to be legalized, which means many members of the extremely young Hispanic community have gone through only one or two census counts.
As Hispanics come to make the connection between filling out a census form and a better quality of life -- in higher census numbers there is funding and political power -- they will likely become as familiar with the census process as non-Hispanics.
The quicker those who are aiding the Hispanic outreach effort figure out that the main concern for this population is not fear of "La Migra!" the more successful they will be in counting and serving this "hard-to-reach" community.