The march on Washington planned by advocates for immigration reform is expected to take place later this month, just weeks after the March 2 starting date for 56,000 U.S. Census Bureau workers who officially started the direct distribution of forms to almost 12 million households across the country.
The first wave of forms will be delivered mostly in rural areas, where mail service can be spotty. Many of those areas are also likely to include large numbers of Latino farm workers.
The forms will be delivered in a plastic pouch that will be placed on the front door of each home. U.S. Census Bureau officials are asking anyone who receives the form to answer its ten questions and send it back by mail using the prepaid envelope that's included in the packet.
"No matter how the form is received, it's important that it be filled out and returned as soon as possible," said Robert M. Groves, director of the U.S. Census Bureau, during a recent event in the Boyle Heights district on the Eastside of Los Angeles.
If the forms have not been returned by April, a group of census workers will start to go to homes to help people who have not been able to fill it out for one reason or another. However, Groves emphasized that mailing it back will save thousands of dollars in taxpayers' money.
Groves and other federal officials have also emphasized that information provided on census forms are confidential. They add that any federal employee who discloses any of the information could face large fines and time in prison.
The census numbers are used for two main purposes: Tracking federal electoral districts and apportioning the distribution of funds for federal programs, including those involving health, education, housing, public works and other matters.
The U.S. Census Bureau' s most recent data indicates that there are currently 45.5 million Latinos in the United States, the largest minority in the country, making up 14% of the population.
The number of Latinos has increased by 10 million since 2000 and they make up half the growth of U.S. population in the last decade.
When the 2000 Census was held and Latinos made up 13% of the population, they were 39% of the population living in areas that were especially difficult to count due to access, communication and education.
Nora Alicia Estrada is a writer for Impulso.
Photos by Impulso.
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