With less than six months remaining before the 2010 Census begins, the U.S. Census Bureau is preparing various language outreach programs to more accurately count the immigrant population across the country, encouraging greater participation in the census. Multiple studies have shown that due to language barriers and distrust of the government, previous censuses have historically undercounted minorities and immigrants.
In light of this, Census Bureau Director Groves presented to elected officials in San Francisco on the 14th, stating that to achieve a more accurate count of the immigrant population, they plan to launch a $300 million outreach campaign. This will include a printed form with ten questions in English, as well as flyers in five additional languages, including English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, and Spanish, directing users to the webpage in their language. Additionally, telephone assistance will be available in up to 59 languages.
Groves indicated that part of the outreach efforts will be conducted through community organizations, such as churches and ethnic groups, to disseminate information about the census and alleviate community residents' concerns about cooperating with federal agencies. Furthermore, the Census Bureau will initiate media campaigns, including advertisements in minority newspapers, which will also aid in promoting the census. The Bureau also plans to send out up to 13.5 million bilingual forms in English and Spanish to communities where it is estimated that one-fifth of households are Hispanic.
Advocacy groups have previously urged the Census Bureau to request that immigration authorities suspend workplace enforcement during the census to reduce immigrants' fear of the government, but Groves declined, stating that federal agencies cannot ask another agency to cease its operations. However, he assured that the privacy of respondents will be protected and that participation in the census will not lead to any harm. Meanwhile, local governments are also joining this effort. For instance, San Francisco plans to invest over $800,000 in community outreach efforts.
San Francisco and California have claimed that the 2008 census undercounted their populations by 35,000 and 500,000 residents, respectively, resulting in significant economic losses, with California losing $1.5 billion in federal funding as a result.