Features - The Fear. The Purpose. The Future.
While many Latinos may become hesitant when
they receive the 2010 U.S. Census survey next
March there are more reasons to fill it out then to
not. But with immigration reform lurking closely
the fears this community lives with everyday are
omnipresent and for many, justified.
Sometime in March 2010 you can expect to receive a
questionnaire from the U.S. government either by mail or
hand delivery. Certainly not just another piece of junk mail,
the 2010 Census survey is a count of everyone residing in
the United States – documented or otherwise. No doubt an
ambitious order by the government, the Census’ message
pushes the importance of taking 10 minutes out of your life to
fill in 10 questions. Sounds easy enough right? But for some,
particularly in the Latino community, there is deep-rooted
fear that those 10 minutes could change their lives forever.
“The fear is that when somebody comes in [from the government]
and asks you to respond… that could cause deportation,”
says Alma Morales Riojas, president of MANA, a
national Latina organization. “Even if you are a legal resident,
even if you were a citizen. We’ve seen too many cases of
that.”
Case-in-point, Araceli Torres whose story was told during
CNN’s Latino In America special, hosted by Soledad O’Brien.
Araceli, 26, arrived in this country at the age of 7 totally unaware
that by passing the American border from Mexico
with the intentions of relocation her family was committing
a crime. She lived in Maricopa County, Arizona for the majority
of her life, and even held down a minimum wage job
for seven years. But on March 18, 2008 Araceli’s life took a
drastic turn. Finding out about her undocumented status for
the first time; “when I was ready to finish high school and go
to college,” Araceli discovered she was working in this country
with a fake social security number. A crime no less, and
in fact in Arizona it is a felony, Araceli just wanted to work to
support her family. At $10 per hour she often worked 12-hour
shifts at the food change Panda Express. But soon after that
morning in March she came to be known as one of the Panda
Express 11. Araceli was one of the eleven employees who
were arrested that day for working under fake social security
numbers.
When asked if she understood that using a false social
security number was a crime Araceli told CNN, “I know it
was not a crime to work. I know I was not doing anything
wrong.”
Standing before a judge, Araceli’s worse fears became reality.
She was found guilty (pending an appeal) and was sentenced
to deportation to her native Mexico, a which is to her
a foreign land, where she knows no one, leaving behind her
American born daughter.
“The issue of immigration reform is one that affects everybody
who is Latino,” says Riojas. “I would like to say it
affects everyone but right now the adverse impact is on Latinos
overall whether you’ve been here – my family has been
here as long as I know in Texas but there’s a solid distinction
made on who the immigrants are and who the residents here
are whether you’re a new arrival or not. So the hesitancy is, ‘Why should I respond [to the census survey] when it could
be something that will be used against me and force me to
leave my home,’ which is here.”
With 12 million undocumented individuals
in this country the mistrust of government
is not only focused in one region. The undocumented
live in every part of this country
and have contributed to our economy for
decades but due to immigration reform policies
these individuals fear their contributions
will go unnoticed, like in the case of Araceli.
“The fear and anger is in our communities now lives in the hearts of our people,” says Maria Hinojosa, 2-time Emmy Award winning, senior correspondent for NOW on PBS, and managing editor and anchor for NPR’s Latino USA. “So when I hear a story from someone I recently met, a Mexican undocumented woman living in New York with three American born children but she is undocumented. Her youngest daughter who is 10-years-old is afraid to go out onto the streets of New York City. This is not even like a small town out in Pennsylvania, this is on the streets of New York City this little girl has an element of fear and when she see’s a police officer she turns to her mother and says, ‘¡Mami mira la policia! ¿Te van a llevar?’”
With the United States Census 2010 survey
fast approaching the Census has implemented
a national campaign to express the
importance of filling out the survey so that
you and your family members are counted.
Conducted every 10 years the census is
used to count the population and determine
the number of seats each state will have in
the U.S. House of Representatives. All answers
given are protected by Title 13 of the
U.S. Code, which strictly forbids the Census
Bureau from sharing any personally identifiable
information with any other government
or private agency, including other federal
agencies and law enforcement entities. In
fact, all Census Bureau employees have
taken a lifetime oath to uphold this law. Any
violation will be subject to a $250,000 fine
and/or a 5-year prison sentence.
The Census’ message for 2010 is that the survey is Easy, Safe and Important, but participation is critical. Latinos are the faster growing and largest population in this country today and by 2050 the population will nearly triple in growth. So it is vital that each Latino is counted because if not then it is likely that you will not matter in the decision making process when it comes to the allocation of federal funding.
Here are three important reasons to fill out the United States Census 2010 survey:
- Every year, the federal government allocates
more than $400 billion to states and
communities based, in part, on census
data.
- Census data are used to determine locations
for retail stores, schools, hospitals,
new housing developments and other community
facilities.
- Census data determine boundaries for
state and local legislative and congressional
districts.
“The importance of it is because it designates, of course, not just representation for congress but any funding that goes into a local area,” says Riojas. “I don’t think that those [messages] will resonate with our community as easily as saying the whole future of support for you and your family will depend on your responding to this. Y la conexión tiene que – sorry (laughs) – the connection for our community has to be one that is more substantive and more relative to why it’s important for them to be able to respond. [The message that it’s] safe is the big one for la communidad Latino.”
Just as Riojas spoke in both English and
Spanish many Latinos in this country do the
same. Easily slipping into one language and
then to the next is the fluidity that defines
Latinos in this country. The Census Bureau
recognizes this and the staff aims to be as
diverse as the communities they serve, currently
fluent in close to 40 languages.
The Census will provide language assistance to anyone who needs it. There is a Questionnaire Assistance Center (QAC) that will assist those unable to read or understand the questionnaire. Large-print questionnaires are available to the visually impaired upon request, and a Teletext Device for the Deaf (TDD) program will help the hearing impaired.
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