Census Bureau partners with immigrant community to break through skepticism

The Census Bureau has spent more than a year preparing for the 2010 population count,

Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, executive director of the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury which is already underway in Alaska and will continue throughout the rest of the country in mid-March.

To promote citizen participation, the agency launched a national $133 million advertising campaign in January, including $40 million for ads in Spanish and commercials during the Super Bowl, the most-watched television event in the United States, among other efforts to reach “hard-to-count populations.”

“We have a much broader campaign for the 2010 Census, with an emphasis in reaching to all hard-to-count populations,” said Alexandra Barker, a media partnership specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau.

For this first time in Census history, bilingual forms in English and Spanish will go out to areas that have high numbers of Spanish-speaking residents, in addition to the availability of Language Assistance Guides to be used alongside with the English form—printed in 59 languages, including Portuguese

Even so, for immigrant communities across the state, the Census 2010 questionnaire — that will arrive in the mail the week of March 15 and only has 10 questions — still evokes suspicion and uncertainty.

“There are a lot of people still who fear participating in the Census, thinking that information could be sent directly to immigration (authorities),” said Solange Santos of Danbury, coowner of LS Graphics with her husband, Luis.

The couple has been supplying business cards and other products to the Brazilian and Latino business community for more than a decade and has been dubbed an unofficial reference when it comes to calculating how many Brazilians live in the greater Danbury area.

By law, Census workers can’t share individuals’ answers with anyone else, including other government agencies. Divulging Census participants’ personal information is a federal crime punishable by up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine.

“We have no connection with law enforcement,” Barker said. “We don’t ask anything about immigration status, and it doesn’t matter whether you are a citizen or not.”

However, a recent survey by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found that 11 percent of people believe that the Census is used to locate undocumented immigrants.

The survey of 1,504 adults also found that 33 percent of Latinos interviewed didn’t know about the Census and only half of those who knew about it planned to participate.

Historically, children, migrant workers and ethnic groups have been hard to count. An estimated one million Latinos were not counted in the last census, resulting in significant losses of federal funds to the areas where they

live.

According to Baker, faith-based organizations, ethnic media, community leaders, and non-forprofit agencies have all helped disseminate the right information about the purpose of the Census.

One of those agencies is the Hispanic Center of Greater Danbury. The organization has signed up to act as a Be Counted Center, providing help for people who are in need of a form and to obtain assistance in filling it out.

“We have English- and Spanishspeaking staff, in addition to Portuguese speaking volunteers that will be helping folks with the forms, providing a safer environment for those who still have some reservations about the Census,” said Ingrid Alvarez-DiMarzo, the center’s executive director

The center has used every program and service the Census Bureau offers as an outreach effort to educate the community on the importance of the 2010 Census.

“We are using 2010 Census material in our ESL classes; we have been reaching out to the youth so that they can inspire their parents to fill out the form,” Alvarez DiMarzo said. “We have done all we can to educate the community about what it means to a place like the Hispanic Center to have everyone counted — making sure there will be resources in the future for organizations like ours to have the ability to serve them.”

The census count, conducted every 10 years, helps determine the distribution of more than $400 billion in federal funds each year for schools, community clinics, highways and other services.

Santos is well aware of the power of the Census as well.

“What I have been telling my customers is that regardless of their status, the Census is safe and benefits everyone. Our children go to school and they need more resources.

The hospital that we all use needs more resources,” Santos said. “If everyone is counted, the government will be able to allocate more money where is necessary. In the end, everybody wins. There is nothing to fear.”

For more information on the 2010 Census, you may contact the Census Bureau at 1-866-861-2010 or visit the Census Bureau’s website at www.2010. census.gov.