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The states involved in the program are: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Similar efforts are planned for other U.S. regions later this year.
The census, which is mandated by the U.S. Constitution every ten years, asks questions about race, age, gender, and the number of people living in each household. It is used to decide how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed and how congressional districts are drawn.
Still, challenges exist in reaching out to Latinos, Alfonso said. Some immigrants and organizations are wary of providing detailed personal information to the government because they fear doing so could lead to inquiries on immigration status for themselves or family members.
The far-right has also used the Census numbers for “immigrant bashing.”
``The Census Bureau is sending out messages, but it's still a government organization and you have people who are distrustful of it,'' Alfonso said.
Note, however, that the Census does not ask about immigration status or citizenship.
In its campaign, MALDEF is stressing the confidentiality of the data and encouraging people to mail back completed forms early. Their slogan for the effort is ``Hagase Contar,'' or ``Make Yourself Count.''
A bright yellow flier from the group reads, ``by law, the Census Bureau cannot share your answers with anyone, including federal, state and local agencies. This includes immigration agencies.''
The group is focusing its efforts on suburbs where there has been a surge in the number of Latinos, and is working with community groups that include immigrant rights coalitions, health organizations, and gay rights groups, since married same-sex couples will be counted in the 2010 Census.
Immigrants rights groups and the Government Accountability Office have said the Census needs to do better at counting minorities.
Census officials insist they're making efforts. For the first time with the 2010 Census, the agency is sending out Spanish questionnaires to about 13 million households.
In Toledo, Ohio, Margarita De León is a Latina liaison for the U.S. Census. According to De León, “As a partnership specialist in Northwest Ohio, I can’t stress enough the importance of making sure that every resident gets counted. This is not about citizenship, this is about residency.” said De León; “I have been and will continue to work with migrant worker agencies to build trust with this community so that the entire Latino community is represented in the census count.”
Rico de La Prensa contributed to this support.
On the Web: 2010 Census: http://2010.census.gov
MALDEF: http://www.maldef.org/about/offices/midwest/
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