31 March 2010

Citizen or Not, the U.S. Census Counts Everyone

Confidentiality of the census data is strictly protected by law

 

A child eats a hot dog at an event in Galveston, Texas, where residents learn about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census. An accurate census count is important to the island city ravaged by Hurricane Ike in 2008. The federal government uses census figures to determine how much communities will receive in federal funds each year for hospitals, emergency services and other projects.

A child eats a hot dog at an event in Galveston, Texas, where residents learn about the importance of participating in the 2010 Census.

By Jane Morse
Staff Writer

Washington — The U.S. Census Bureau has kicked off its monumental $14.5 billion effort to get an exact count of the estimated 309 million people living in the United States. It seeks to include everyone: citizens and noncitizens, those with permanent residences and transients alike.

The U.S. Constitution says the “resident population” — not just U.S. citizens — should be counted, says Daniel Weinberg, Census Bureau assistant director for decennial census programs. The one exception is foreign ambassadors and staff who live in embassy compounds, he said, because that is technically foreign soil.

In a briefing at the Foreign Press Center in Washington March 26, Weinberg explained that the Constitution mandates a full count of the U.S. population every 10 years to ensure that Americans are fairly represented in the U.S. Congress.

Population determines how many representatives a state can send to the House of Representatives. The more populous states are allowed more representatives, and, by extension, more potential political clout. (Each state has a minimum of one representative.)

Another reason for the census is “to draw the districts so that they’re of equal size,” Weinberg said. Each person in the House of Representatives represents a district in his or her state, and each district in a state must include the same number of people. States often redraw their districts — both for the U.S. Congress and their own legislatures — based on the census findings.

No matter what their status, all immigrants are included in the population calculations for seats in the House of Representatives. “Everybody should be counted,” said Weinberg, adding that “the courts have upheld the current interpretation for centuries.”

The census also has a big financial impact on everyone living in the United States. The federal government uses the census figures to determine how much communities will receive of more than $400 billion allocated in federal funds each year. These funds help pay for hospitals, job training centers, schools, senior centers, emergency services and public works projects such as bridges and tunnels.

REACHING OUT TO IMMIGRANTS AND MINORITY POPULATIONS

Weinberg acknowledged that many immigrants living in the United States without proper documentation may be afraid to have any contact with federal authorities. The Census Bureau tries to reach these reluctant respondents through advertising and in partnership with activists, ethnic church leaders and others who are trusted by people in the immigrant communities. The census questionnaire is available in six different languages, and language assistance guides are available in a total of 60 languages.

“That’s a challenge: to reach people who don’t speak English as a primary language,” Weinberg said. “It’s not easy, but we really make an effort to reach all of them.”

The Census Bureau goes to “extreme lengths” to protect the identity of anyone who responds to the census questionnaire, Weinberg said. The Census Bureau personnel who collect and process the information “are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of these data,” he said. “We do protect these individual responses; [we] put out basically just tables, just tabulations, and not even the Patriot Act can override these protections.”

“We do share the data with the National Archives, and they keep them confidential as well,” Weinberg said. The individual records are not released to the public for 72 years, and this old data forms the basis for a lot of genealogical research, such as tracing family trees.

The census questionnaire for 2010 has only 10 questions, which are about the age, sex, race and ethnic heritage of the respondent. This year, for the first time, an English-Spanish questionnaire was mailed to about 13 million households. “We think that will improve response rates in the heavily Hispanic neighborhoods,” Weinberg said.

Questions about religious affiliation are prohibited by U.S. law. The religion data the Census Bureau publishes in its statistical abstracts is assembled from reports provided by religious organizations, he said.

The data collected via the short questionnaire will be supplemented by the American Community Survey, which regularly collects more detailed information from samples of residents throughout the country. About 3 million people participate each year, Weinberg said.

Late in April approximately 700,000 census workers, or “enumerators,” will begin to visit households that didn’t return the short questionnaire to make sure they are counted, Weinberg said. Some work at night, visiting places “where the homeless might congregate and try and get them counted,” he said.

A transcript and video of Weinberg’s presentation are available on the State Department Web site. Also see the Census Bureau’s Web page on data confidentiality.

See also: “Looking for a Full Count in U.S. Census.”