Census 2010: Keeping tracks of Colonias proves difficult
By
KGNS News
Story Created:
Feb 1, 2010
Story Updated:
Feb 3, 2010
During the 2000 census, a combination of challenges affected how accurately the colonias were counted.
Language barriers and lack of physical infrastructure were just some of the problems.
"In my congressional district we lost 55 million dollars mainly federal and state money because we didn't count everybody."
The Census Director and Congressman Henry Cuellar met in Washington three weeks ago to discuss the importance of outreach efforts along the border.
The Census Director has an important message for the people in this Colonia and that is that they should not be afraid when they come knocking at your door.
"This is a safe thing for everyone to do regardless of your immigration status. We want to count you and your family so you can benefit from the services."
"There is a federal law that says somebody can go to prison for five years or 250 thousand dollar fine if they violate that. We are not going to share this information."
According to the Census Director, there are four hundred billion dollars in taxpayer money that will go back to the communities if everyone is counted.
One strategy they have come up is hiring people temporarily.
"A lot of people come to my house, so when they get a letter, they ask me to translate, so I'm there helping them to."
"The other one we call on the spot hiring where they go to a neighborhood like the lady said. I know the area...go help us open the doors to the rest of the people."
The census hope with on the spot hiring that it will be easier for them to count the three hundred plus people that live in this colonia alone.
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