Friday, 18 February 2000
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/074-6885.html
THE QUESTIONS
The survey asked these questions, among others:
``When the U.S. Census questionnaire comes to your home in the
year 2000, will you definitely, probably, probably not, or definitely
not take the time to fill it out?''
Definitely fill out: 52 percent
Probably fill out: 32 percent
Probably not/definitely not: 16 percent
``Please tell me if you agree or disagree with the following statements:
``Completing the Census questionnaire will help provide government
programs to low-income Hispanic families in Arizona who may need
assistance from the government.''
Agree: 78 percent
Disagree: 11 percent
Unsure: 11 percent
``The Census is another way for the government to get private
information about me and my family.''
Agree: 44 percent
Disagree: 49 percent
Unsure: 7 percent
By Hanna Miller
The Arizona Daily Star
Sixteen percent of Hispanics in Arizona don't plan to take
part in this year's census, according to a poll by Phoenix-based
Behavior Research Center.
In part, they fear information given to the Census Bureau would
be shared with other government agencies, the poll found.
The problem isn't news to the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
which announced yesterday that it plans to postpose routine enforcment
actions during the census period to help the government obtain
a more accurate count of Hispanics.
The census begins April 1.
Hispanics were undercounted by more than 4 percent in 1990, said
Neil Weiner, manager of the U.S. Census Bureau's Tucson office.
An undercount can significantly reduce the amount of government
funds funneled to a certain area, Weiner said. The census is also
used to map congressional districts.
Weiner said he wasn't surprised by results of the Behavior Research
Center poll.
``I think the actual number may be higher,'' Weiner said. ``It's
a hard job. We have a lot of people who don't trust us.''
More than three-quarters of the 500 Hispanics surveyed agreed
completing the census questionnaire would help provide assistance
to low-income Hispanic families. But only about half of the respondents
said they would definitely finish the form.
Almost half of the people polled said they believed the Census
Bureau would betray their confidentiality. People also said they
feared the government would sell information about them.
Weiner said the Census Bureau must battle both distrust and misconceptions:
27 percent of those polled incorrectly said only U.S. citizens
are required to participate in the census.
Weiner said the Census Bureau is targeting holdouts with a series
of explanatory advertisements in Spanish. The bureau's television
and print campaign highlights a recent Supreme Court decision
that barred the Executive branch from obtaining census data.
``We try to let everyone know President Clinton tried to get material
from us and he couldn't,'' Weiner said.
The Census Bureau's Tucson branch is also busily recruiting bilingual
workers. Weiner said all workers in predominantly Hispanic areas
must speak Spanish. The entrance exam for census workers is being
offered in Spanish so as not to exclude people whose first language
isn't English.
``We're hoping these things work,'' Weiner said.
The Behavior Research Center poll found Hispanics classified as
high-income are most likely to say they'll fill out census forms.
Low-income and young Hispanics tend to be more distrustful of
government, the poll showed.
The poll was conducted in December, with results announced yesterday.
It has a potential margin of error of 4.4 percent.
INS spokesman Russ Bergereon told The Associated Press his agency
has never sought census information.
``All of our operations, when they are conducted, are targeted
operations based on specific information,'' Bergeron said. ``There
is no cause for anyone to be concerned that we would do that type
of thing during the census.''
To improve participation in the census, however, the INS has agreed
to postpone operations which aren't time-sensitive, Bergeron said.
``What we're basically saying is that we do not want to impede
the ability of the Census Bureau from collecting their data, nor
do we want to discourage people from participating in the census,''
he said.
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