Graphic courtesy of the U.S. Census 2010 campaign.
With the United States 2010 Census underway, it is important to count both citizens and non-citizens; however, the census faces resistance from immigrant communities because of the current issues with immigration policy.
As mandated by Article 1, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, congress has power to conduct the census in “every subsequent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct.”
According to the 2010.census.gov Web page, the purpose of the census is to equally distribute the seats of the U.S. House of Representatives among the states, and the equal allotment of funds in order to provide federal services and programs to each state population.
According to the Seattle Times, “For the advocates and the people they represent, each person counted means $1,400 a year in needed health care, housing assistance and other federal and state public-assistance programs.”
However, an enduring problem may hinder a near exact count of the population.
A report made by the Spanish news network, Univision, says that many immigrant communities are wary of the census because they fear being turned in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E), if they participate.
“The immigrant community in the U.S. fears to be part of the census because they feel like immigration will know where the majority of them live and there could be the possibility of deportation,” said Iveth Cervantes, 19, co-chair of Improving Dreams, Equality, Access and Success (IDEAS), a support group for undocumented students.
“This could also lead to exploitation such as doing more checkpoints on specific target communities,” Cervantes said.
As of March 8, the 2010.census.gov website estimates that 120 million homes will be receiving an advanced census letter urging people to fill out the questionnaire form.
The letter reads, “Dear Resident: About one week from now, you will receive a 2010 Census form in the mail. When you receive your form, please fill it out and mail it in promptly. Your response is important. Results from the 2010 Census will be used to help each community get its fair share of government funds for highways, schools, health facilities, and many other programs you and your neighbors need. Without a complete, accurate census, your community may not receive its fair share. Thank you in advance for your help. Sincerely, Robert M. Grove, director of the U.S. Census Bureau.”
Despite the goals set forth in the letter and its signed sincerity, some are still not entirely comfortable with the idea.
“I don’t think its fair that the government is asking for everyone to be counted because not everyone will qualify for these federal programs,” Cervantes said. “Of course they want to count everyone, including people that are undocumented because it will benefit the state but it wont benefit the majority of the people.”
Jimmy Diaz, 20, chemistry major agreed with Cervantes that immigrants might be avoiding the census in order to protect themselves from further government scrutiny.
“If they speak up, then they may believe it could be a dangerous mistake and this could lead to more persecution,” Diaz said.
Local governments however, want to clarify and stress the fact that all U.S. Census information is confidential.
In a second article by Univision that reports on a possible boycott, Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles speaks in favor of the census.
She said that boycotting the census would be like shooting one’s own foot. She said that the main purpose of the census is to make people visible and to acquire a great deal of representation.
“It is time, be counted!” Salas said.
Josué Velásquez
Multiculture Editor
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Interesting blog you got here but I can’t seem to find the RSS button.
The RSS feed buttons are at the very bottom of the front page for both comments and posts. Thank you for your interest.
Sie haben einige gute Punkte gibt. Ich habe eine Suche zum Thema und fand die meisten Leute mit Ihrem Blog einig site.
Extremely nice points. Really touched on a few of really nice ideas. Thank you for taking the time to put that together. Putting this blog in my RSS !
Barack Obama and the remainder of his socialist cronies really should be ashamed of themselves. This really is a complete outrage. I was under the impression that when the chief executive will take office he has to declare an oath that will support and protect the constitution of the united states. Nowhere inside the Constitution does it give the administration the authority to be able to enact or implement laws like the medical care reform bill. It’s my opinion that these power mongers will be in for a genuine surprise come November. Great job relating to the demise of your political careers.
Good blog, some amusing details. I believe seven of days ago, I have viewed a similar article. Does anyone know how to track future posts?
I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.
You must hit the rss button on the top or bottom of the page.
this post its very usefull thx!
thank you for all the nice comments
I think as America continues to evolve, the census form needs to do a better job of keeping up with the changing face of our population. My children, my grand-children, and my grand-parents are multi-racial. Since there is no category on the census form that says Ghetto-Gold, the politically correct catch phrase that best describes me is African-American. And when I’m not filling out some politically suspect form, I’m happy to just be an American.