Organizers from three Las Cruces-area nonprofit groups announced a collaborative 2020 Census campaign that will focus on reaching hard-to-count communities in Doña Ana County.

At a recent press conference hosted in English and Spanish, members of faith-based advocacy group NM Comunidades en Acción y de Fé (CAFé), the Empowerment Congress of Doña Ana County and Doña Ana Communities United spoke about educational and canvassing efforts to "Get Out the Count" regionally.

The Census Bureau is spending millions of dollars on an ad campaign seeking to assure members of the Latino community that their information will not be shared with local or federal authorities.

The ads, which are a part of the bureau’s $500 million campaign, are focused on mitigating fears regarding a lack of confidentiality, following the push for the now-excluded citizenship question from the 2020 census.

With the United States about to begin its monumental task of counting everybody in the country once every 10 years, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on Thursday, Jan. 9, to see what the Census Bureau is doing to avoid overlooking so-called “hard to count” communities.

Arturo Vargas of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials objected to the “hard-to-count” designation: “What makes people hard to count are the enumeration strategies.”

The 60-second advertising spot is mostly a feel-good montage. A restaurant worker, a grandfather, a farmer, and a child tell the viewer in Spanish that everyone counts, and that filling out the census is important for the local community.

DEEP DIVE — LEGAL BATTLE OVER CENSUS CITIZENSHIP DATA RAGES ON: While the Supreme Court halted the Trump administration’s plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census last year, civil rights groups in Maryland — including Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC — are still seeking to block an executive order directing the Census Bureau to gather citizenship information through administrative records, the Associated Press reports.

Many Latinos believe a citizenship question will be asked on the 2020 census and are less likely to participate, a national Latino leader told Congress on Thursday.

Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, said the “failed debacle” of the citizenship question has instilled a lasting fear that needs to be remedied.

Although the Trump administration dropped a citizenship question from this year's census, minority groups told the House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday that the question's specter has haunted preparations for a national count that could miss millions of residents.

As census efforts ramp up this spring, outreach organizations fear that Trump administration officials may try to deport the immigrant communities they need to count.

A network of nonprofits, local governments and advocacy groups has fanned out to help the Census Bureau conduct its decennial count of America’s residents. Some advocates worry the administration, after its failed push to add a citizenship question to the census, may continue on-the-ground immigration enforcement efforts in a departure from previous censuses.

U.S. Senators Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Tuesday joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) in introducing a bipartisan resolution to ensure the 2020 Census is fair and accurate. The resolution encourages individuals, families, and households across the United States to take part in the Census so that all communities can be counted.

Contact

Washington, DC – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Arab American Institute, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC, and NALEO Educational Fund are launching 2020 Census hotlines for the communities they serve.  The suite of hotlines will operate in over ten languages and serves as a crucial resource for individuals who have questions or concerns regarding the upcoming 2020 Census.