The new Arizona law against illegal immigration has at least some Wisconsin Hispanics wondering if they really want to be counted in this year’s Census, according to Veronica Lazo, who’s with a group that’s trying to get as many Latinos counted as possible in the Madison area.
Eighty-one percent of Wisconsin households mailed back their Census forms, the highest rate in the nation. But in Madison, less than two-thirds responded in neighborhoods with lots of rental units, low-income people, and Spanish-speaking residents. A 21-year-old woman tells the Wisconsin State Journal that she and her husband won’t talk to a Census taker because he’s an illegal immigrant and doesn’t want the government to get his name.
The US Census Bureau Director Robert Groves assures that all census information is strictly confidential.
Robert Groves (:31)
Census takers are now knocking on doors of households that did not mail back their forms. For those concerned about opening the door to strangers or scam artists, Groves says those employed by the agency will be wearing a white badge printed in red ink with the Census Bureau logo around their neck. The badge will also have the worker’s name written in black ink and you have the right to ask for a state issued identification to assure their name matches with the badge. The knockers also carry a black bag with a big white Census logo, “that you can’t miss,” according to Groves.
The Census, which takes place every 10 years, is used to determine population for US House districting and how federal money is distributed.