Undocumented Aliens Fear Getting Counted in the 2010 Census Will Lead to Punishment. Government Promises no Punishment
By Jason Volentine
KIAH
February 4, 2010
The 2010 census is on and the Census Bureau wants to assure immigrants here illegally that reporting to the government won't lead to punishment.
However, immigration raids like the one this week in southeast Houston have many feeling uneasy. Police made more than 20 arrests finding 81 illegal immigrants. It's the latest in a string some fear will keep other undocumented people from getting counted. Experts warn uncounted people will hurt Houston in the end.
There's little trust between much of Houston's Latino community and the federal government.
"The census and [ Department of] Homeland Security are two totally, totally different segments of government," said U.S. Census Spokesperson Eduardo Guity. "Hopefully this will not have any impact on what we do."
However, it already has.
"We don't know who's knocking on the door, you know, maybe immigration or federal agencies. So, we'd rather not open the door," said Claudia Ortega, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials director of civic engagement.
ICE raids have traditionally undermined the census among undocumented Latinos.
"There's some raids going on and this usually happens near the census and this will intimidate the community in, 'how can I trust, how can I give my information to a government agency?" said Ortega.
Not counting undocumented immigrants costs big. The City of Houston lost $234.4 million in federal funds for people not counted in the 2000 census.
"It's going to affect our schools, public roads, safety, how everything impacts us directly, especially our children," cautioned Ortega.
This census, the NALEO hopes to give the Hispanic community a go-between for those getting registered.
"The Latino community will rather go to an agency that's not a government agency," Ortega said. "We want to reduce the fears; we want to be trusted messengers," she said.
Title 13 of U.S. code does prohibit use of personal information for anything besides statistics. For more information visit www.naleo.org or http://www.2010.census.gov/.
http://www.39online.com/news/local/kiah-countinglatinos-story,0,4325795.story
