Latinos Must Think Before Boycotting the Census

Less than six months from the 2010 census, there is a rising movement in the Latino community to boycott the survey. Not only is this a terribly irresponsible and narrow-minded idea for Latinos, but it would be a detrimental decision that would affect all people that live in their communities.

The census -- conducted once every 10 years -- plays a central role in the shaping of public policies that reflect the ethnic, social and economic diversity of the nation. Unfortunately, minorities and low income communities have historically low participation rates.

A handful of Latino leaders are calling for immigrants to boycott the census due to the "lack of commitment" from the administration to fulfill the promise of immigration reform. They are not asking for undocumented immigrants alone to take a pass -- some are asking the Latino community as a whole to boycott. This could result in a significant decline in federal funds and drastically affect highly populated Latino areas. For example, California's Los Angeles County, where Latinos make up 47% of the population. Or El Paso, Texas, where 82% of the population is Latino.

Incomplete demographic data is proven to have a negative effect on the development of communities. If people are not counted adequately, millions of dollars in public money will not be received. Almost $400 billion in federal funds go to local, state and tribal governments each year -- money that should go to hospitals and health clinics, public schools and transportation projects. It also affects the potential for smart urban planning, responsible development and potential political clout.

The Constitution mandates that everyone participate in the census, regardless of legal status. Undocumented immigrants may have good reasons to fear the government and are already one of the hardest groups to count because of cultural and language barriers. But the information is not and cannot be used to identify individuals. The Census Bureau cannot, by law, share personal information with other federal agencies.

The Latino community is strong and growing. Undocumented immigrants pay payroll, income, property and sales taxes. They stimulate the economy with purchasing power, their work and their businesses. The census should be viewed as a potential source of power, a tool that will help address the need for equality -- power that can help stop the anti-immigrant laws and measures in the nation.

Our newly elected leaders still have to prove that they are serious about fulfilling their promise of immigration reform, but boycotting the census is not the right way to put pressure on the administration. Calling for a census boycott would only be a severe setback, hardly a way to advance the Latino agenda.

Comments

[kevinw]

Actually it is a very effective tool for dealing with the Dems and Repubs. All of the elected officials talk about the immigration problem and all do nothing constructive about it. The Repubs campaigns are more geared around enthic cleansing of the imigrants. The Dems just do nothing but sound sympathetic.

For illegals to avoid being counted in the census there is no sownside. Even when counted, they are not allowed to vote for representation. So what happens to a State like Texas or Florida or Arizona when all of the illegals refuse to cooperate with the census? The overall population of the State drops percipitously. Some of these States will probably lose house seats. That means of the political people ignoring the plight of the illegals will now be fighting other congressman for a job.

There is no upside for the illegals to participate. It will also make it harder for the gerrymandering to be accurate. What is the downside of under counting illegals? None that I can see. The right always fights to make sure that there are provisions in every bill to not allow imigrants to get public services. The Dems always cave on just about everything. So what is the upside of being counted.

[S1m0n]

The boycott looks like a clear case of cutting off your nose to spite your face to me.

[fallingsky]

why would Illegal immigrants be involved in the census in the first place,,,, The census if for legal citizens of the country,,, And why aren't more up in arms over illegals being counted as legals ?

[kevinw]

Actually the census is to count all people living in the US. % of money from bills passed and the number of congressional seats have to do with total population. The only exception to this was when slaves were counted as 3/4 people.