Gregory Bull / AP
A Census 2020 form is seen Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, in Toksook Bay, Alaska.
Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020 | 2 a.m.
The U.S. Census Bureau is encouraging undocumented immigrants to participate in this spring’s decennial count without fear of their legal status being disclosed to immigration enforcement. The questionnaire answers are confidential, they stress.
“Responses are safe, secure, protected by law and are not shared with law enforcement agencies including ICE, CIA or local law enforcement,” Census Bureau spokeswoman Leslie Malone said. “Responses to the 2020 Census will only be used for statistical purposes that inform funding decisions for hospitals, schools, infrastructure and other community services.”
Groups such as the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union are reaching out to immigrants to encourage them to fill out census surveys they receive in the mail.
“(Census takers) only come to your door if you don’t fill it out,” said Laura Martin, executive director of PLAN Action, a progressive policy group that also advocates for the rights of undocumented residents. “No one wants to hear that knock on their door, so fill it out early.”
Services such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are dependent on an accurate population count. An undercount could mean a significant hit in funding, said Emily Zamora, executive director of Silver State Voices, which promotes civic participation. It is partnering with Nevada’s Complete Count Committee to encourage people to participate in the census.
The census, which is taken every 10 years, begins April 1. People can respond to surveys by mail, phone or online. In the months that follow, census workers will follow up at households that do not respond.
Martin said there has been growing mistrust of the government under the Trump administration, which unsuccessfully attempted to include a citizenship question on the census survey. Immigrant communities also fear raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during the count. An ICE spokesperson said its enforcement will continue as normal during the census.
“ICE’s immigration enforcement efforts are focused on targeted individuals illegally present in the U.S., and deportation officers do not perform indiscriminate sweeps in local communities,” said spokeswoman Paige Hughes.
Silver State Voices is partnering with groups like the ACLU for outreach to immigrant communities, whether through social media or visits to churches. The message is consistent: The census is safe and confidential.
This isn’t the first time that fear of immigration enforcement during the count has been an issue. In 2000, the Clinton administration agreed to hold off on immigration enforcement during the count in an effort to temper anxiety among immigrant communities, the Washington Post reports. That same year, census workers posted signs in some neighborhoods that read “NO INS. NO FBI. NO CIA. NO IRS,” to encourage participation.
In 2010, just like this year, ICE made no assurances.
While Las Vegas hasn’t been subject to any recent sweeps, Martin said she’s sympathetic to the fear felt in immigrant communities under the Trump administration.
“Look, there’s a risk in everything we do. There’s a risk for me as a black person getting behind the wheel of a car and an officer pulling me over,” she said. “What is guaranteed, though, is that if you don’t fill out the census, your existence will be erased.”
