Media participants in the discussion of ethnic outlets and their role in the 2010 Census.

The season for counting ourselves is approaching, and Marilia Maton, the Associate Director for National Field Operations at the U.S. Census Bureau, is assuring legal and undocumented immigrants alike that nobody should fear responding to the once-every-10-years population count.

The United States Constitution decrees that a count of the population of all states and other U.S. territories shall be made once a decade. The information gathered by the Census Bureau is crucial in many ways. The census is the basis for the apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the data is also used to determine legislative districts at the federal and state level. The population count also helps, in many cases, to determine the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds for everything from local transportation projects to social programs.

Matos spoke to a room full of members of members of the press at a recent event in Los Angeles sponsored by New America Media, a national association of ethnic media outlets. Matos emphasized that the Census Bureau respects privacy, protects confidentiality, and is transparent in the way it performs its work.

“We guide ourselves in this mission by the strength and abilities of our employees, their training and continuous commitment to their clients,” added Matos. “And everyone who works in this mission must swear to keep the information confidential, which is why undocumented people should not worry — they should trust our survey. Plus, they are not asked about their legal status, and we do not send people to their houses to ask that question. They should just answer the questions on the questionnaire.”

Matos spent some time after the event for a one-on-one question-and-answer session with Impulso of Oaxaca, which follows.

Why is the Census performed?

In 2010, the census of the United States will define who we are as a nation. The Census is performed every 10 years and affects political representation and guides the allocation of hundreds of billions of dollars in government funds

Why should everyone participate in the 2010 Census?

The Census data forms the future of your community and defines your voice in Congress. The information helps to determine where the schools, hospitals, highways, child care centers, centers for the elderly, and other services will be located, and businesses use the data to decide on locations for supermarkets, shopping centers, new housing, among other things. .Each person who participates helps their community to receive the fiscal and social benefits they deserve. That is why our motto is “It’s in our hands.”

What is the the campaign for encouraging responses all about?

The campaign will be held through the media. In the case of the Latino community, Univision and Telemundo have joined in to take the message to their people, because we want know how many people need to receive the appropriate services. The questionnaire is short. It is only 10 questions, which will only take 10 minutes to answer, and then you must mail it back by April 1, 2010.

The Associate Director for National Field Operations of the 2010 Census, Marilia Matos, spent some time for a Q&A with Impulso of Oaxaca.

Many members of the Latino community are afraid to answer the Census because many might lack legal residency. How do you intend to convince them that there responses will be completely unconnected to other government agencies?

Nobody should be afraid at all to provide information for the 2010 Census. The information is confidential and there are no questions about whether you are legal or not. This is confidential, and we are going to protect you. Everyone who works for us must swear to keep all information confidential for the rest of their lives, and we never divulge the information that we receive from people. The violation of this oath would carry a sentence of five years of prison and a fine of up to $250,000. And, by law, the Census Bureau cannot share an individual’s responses with anybody, including charities and immigration agencies. I assure you that the information is confidential.

Within the Latino community there are indigenous groups that do not speak Spanish or English, but do speak their own native languages. How do you plan to reach these types of people?

This year we hired many specialists in order to have access to many types of communities. First, we must find out where those groups are and then focus on convincing them that they should be counted. We have specialists for doing this, because the idea is to count everyone in this country. That is our mission. And if we cannot give them the questionnaire in their language, at least we can put up a help center for them with support from their local communities, providing people who speak the same language, to communicate with them. We can go to [community] meetings to do it, to train them. We are aware that there are these types of communities in the area. In other words, efforts are definitely being made to establish relationships with them, because all the communities must be counted, including rural ones.

What are some of the other challenges in regard to the Latino community?

I made a presentation to a rural community, in the countryside, in order to get help in establishing relationships with fieldworkers and to count each one of them, including those who live in abnormal conditions, such as camping out somewhere. For this census, it is foreseen that there will be changes that will be much more significant than normal due to the economic crisis, because many have left the state in search of cheaper rents, or children who go back to live with their parents, etc.

What about in urban areas?

We are aware that there have always been homes in which many families live, but we are also very aware that those numbers will be much higher [due to the recession], and the goal is that each person at any age who lives in a home will be counted, no matter if many live in one, single home. What matters is to know how many there are. We do not decide whether the situation is bad or good. We are foreseeing that there will be much more of this than in the past. And we are working on sending that message.

Where can a person with questions or concerns call?

We have two regional offices, and throughout the country there will be approximately 494 offices. In January and February there will start being a lot of information in the media about telephones numbers and addresses to request information, as well as information on how seek employment with the Census Bureau.

Our website at www.census.gov offers information on the whole country, and there is a map for anyone interested in looking for information on their city, with listings for the closest office. Most local offices will start to operate in December, and information will be provided shortly after that.

What are the questions that the Census asks?

The questions are simple. The number of people living in this home, including babies. The name of the person filling out the complete questionnaire. The gender, date of birth, age, nationality, race, and if they own or rent the house in which they live. And that person helps to fill in a column for each of the people living in that home. and the questions are the same for each person.

How will people obtain a 2010 Census questionnaire?

They will receive it by U.S. mail and must return it by U.S. mail, not by e-mail. And if it is not sent before April 1st, then those homes will receive a visit from a person knocking on their door.

When will the residents begin receiving the questionnaire?

It will arrive around the middle of March 2010 and we hope it will be returned by April 1st of the same year.

More info:
* www.census.gov

Nora Alicia Estrada is a writer for Impulso.

Photos from Impulso