Illegals and the Census

Filling out your census form is mandated by the U.S. Constitution. Still, many people don’t fill it out for fear their private information is going to become public. That’s of special concern for illegal or “undocumented” immigrants.

The Census Bureau says it’s important for undocumented immigrants to fill out the form because the results affect them too.

Carlos Hernandez is an undocumented immigrant, but he wasn’t afraid to mail in his Census form. “La inmigración no puede usar tu información porque el censo es una cosa privada,” says Carlos Hernandez. He’s right, Immigration is not allowed to use any of your information. It’s private and against the law.

But fear of having to leave the country is keeping many of his undocumented friends from filling out the form. “What we have to do, because that is one of our biggest challenges, is to combat that fear by letting people know that we will not share any information that we receive through census operations at all,” says Constance Hyman from U.S. Census Bureau. “We are basically taking oath that we cannot, and if we do we can and will be subject to a $250,000 fine and five years federal prison time.”

People who don’t fill out the form can also face a hefty fine, $5,000. Accounting for everyone in a community can bring more money into that community.

“Regardless of citizenship, regardless of whether or not you’re documented or undocumented, a lot of that funding goes back into the communities that you live in, if we need new roads, new hospitals,” says Hyman.

“Undocumented immigrants are human beings that live here, and they do contribute to society,” says Nicholas Faherty from Amigos Internacional. “They pay taxes. They pick all of our fruits and vegetables, work in these meat-packing plants that no other Americans almost will work in. They go to schools. They use transportation, and all of them want to be American citizens. There’s just no path right now for them to legalize themselves.”

Citizen or not, the important thing is that everyone is counted every 10 years, Hernandez included.

If you haven’t already received your Census form, you should get it soon. You need to return it by May 1st.

If you’re looking for a job, the Census Bureau is hiring a bunch of people to walk door to door to make sure people fill out their Census forms. For more information call 866-861-2010 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              866-861-2010      end_of_the_skype_highlighting.