| Immigrants and the 2010 Census |
Jesús Martínez, Ph.D.
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
The 2010 Census process is underway.
This constitutionally mandated effort will provide us with a snapshot of the
American nation, helping us to understand how it has evolved over the
years. For Mexicans and other immigrants who contribute with their work
and imagination to the greatness of this country, the Census represents
not only a right to be counted as a member of the national community, but
also a civic responsibility that must be taken seriously. An accurate and
complete count of all immigrant groups should be a priority, as an
undercount can seriously affect the communities in which they live.
This section will be enhanced in the following days with information and
links, so please check back regularly ... and be sure to send your census
form!
This constitutionally mandated effort will provide us with a snapshot of the
American nation, helping us to understand how it has evolved over the
years. For Mexicans and other immigrants who contribute with their work
and imagination to the greatness of this country, the Census represents
not only a right to be counted as a member of the national community, but
also a civic responsibility that must be taken seriously. An accurate and
complete count of all immigrant groups should be a priority, as an
undercount can seriously affect the communities in which they live.
This section will be enhanced in the following days with information and
links, so please check back regularly ... and be sure to send your census
form!
| Mexican Immigrants and the Census: Mega-Undercounts and Strategies for More Effective Enumeration |
Mexican immigrants constitute one of the social groups that is considered
hard to count (HTC) by the Bureau of the Census. The reality is that this has
at least as much to do with the way the census is designed and
implemented as the characteristics of the immigrant population itself. In
fact, some experts suggest that the biggest barriers to immigrant
participation in the census are operational rather than motivational.
Moreover, it is important to point out that within the Mexican immigrant
community there are some sectors that have been more seriously
undercounted than others, requiring special attention and strategies from
census authorities and agencies seeking a complete count.
The operational factors that influence an undercount of Mexican immigrants
begin with the inability to have a census form arrive at the hands of an
individual immigrant. This may happen due to several reasons: the housing
unit is not incorporated into the census master address list; the immigrant
lives in a housing arrangement that includes multiple
families/individuals/households/housing units and only one form is
received per address; immigrants live in communities that do not home
delivery of mail (particularly true in rural California); etc.
A second reason may be that the form that does arrive may only be in
English and no one is able to answer it due to language and literacy
problems. Since the Census is not mailing bilingual forms to everyone, not
even in areas with high numbers of immigrants, a serious barrier is created.
A third factor is that even when the census form is not mailed back, the
follow up efforts by the census result inadequate to count the missing
residents.
A specific sector of the Mexican immigrant population that is seriously
undercounted is the farmworking immigrant population. According to Ed
Kissam, an expert on the study of the nation’s farmworking population, in
the past there has been an undercount of farmworkers that is as high as
50%, making it a truly mega-undercount.
At present, numerous efforts are underway to try to increase the
enumeration of Mexican and other immigrant populations. Some of the
strategies that may be developed to ensure greater success include:
1. Creating a network of community agencies committed to effective
census enumeration of Mexican immigrants.
2. Training community workers of said agencies and also Bureau of the
Census staff in an adequate manner to work with immigrant populations.
3. Hiring staff members that are bilingual, not only Spanish-English but also
people who may be Spanish-Mixteco or a variation of some other
indigenous language that may be important in specifics
communities/regions.
4. Ensuring that community workers and census staff members spend as
much time out on the field as possible, having direct contact with
immigrants.