U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke

EDINBURG, April 13 - Congressman Rubén Hinojosa will hold a telephone conference call with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today to voice concerns about the way the census is being counted in border colonias.

“I have to say that I am very disappointed in the fact that the vast majority of our residents living in colonias were not mailed 2010 Census forms,” Hinojosa told the Guardian on Monday.

“Over a quarter of a million residents live in colonias, they must not be ignored. I have been assured by Census officials that enumerators will be visiting colonia residents in the following weeks. I am doing what I can to make certain everyone is counted.”

Hinojosa will be joined on the conference call by other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, including border representatives.

“I will urge Secretary Locke to hire enough enumerators, or Census counters, to cover the entire U.S.-Mexico border region,” Hinojosa said.

“I will also urge him to work closely with our local partners and Spanish language media outlets to provide colonia residents with advanced notice of Census enumeration activities and dates. I will also urge Secretary Locke to invest more in the Census advertising message to explain their method of counting. We want colonia residents to know what and who to expect during this period of door to door Census counting.”

To the amazement of local elected officials and community groups, the U.S. Census Bureau announced two weeks ago that 95 percent of colonia residents would not be receiving census questionnaires, either in the mail or in person. Instead, the Bureau said, they would receive personal visits by Census workers, under an operation called Update/Enumerate. Under the plan, Census workers are asked to get a verbal response from colonia residents to the ten questions on the Census questionnaire.

The Census Bureau has defended its decision not to send Census forms to Rio Grande Valley colonias, saying Update/Enumerate is the “Cadillac” version of its Census 2010 outreach operation. “The Census Bureau has used Update/Enumerate methods in the colonias for several decades and, similar to efforts on American Indian reservations, believes the methodology offers the greatest likelihood of an accurate count in these important communities,” the Bureau said, in a statement issued on April 5.

Numerous elected officials in the Valley have criticized the Census Bureau’s decision not to mail census questionnaires to colonia residents. Hidalgo County Judge Rene Ramirez and Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos sent separate letters to Census Bureau Director Robert Groves slamming the policy.

Non-profits that work in the colonias have also attacked the Census Bureau for its census count initiative in colonias. They believe colonia residents had every right to receive a census questionnaire in the mail. They doubt that Census workers will get reach every colonia resident. There are thought to be almost 1,000 colonias in Hidalgo County alone.

The non-profits are also angry that the Census Bureau did not tell them earlier that they would not be sending Census forms in the mail. Their whole marketing strategy had been ‘as soon as you get the Census form in the mail, fill it out and send it back.’

Hinojosa said the stakes are high, particularly for the Valley, which is growing so fast.

“Every Census count is extremely important because it determines how much federal funding an area will get. The information gathered will help build more public schools, new hospitals and repair and build new roads for our District,” he said.

“One of the other very important factors which is determined by the Census count is how many seats in Congress our state will get. The Rio Grande Valley stands to gain another Congressional representative. This is extremely important because the more representation our people have in Washington, D.C., the more attention our area will receive.”

Hinojosa pointed out that businesses make decisions on which region to relocate to based on census information. “The Census count will also direct federal funds for local services such as Head Start programs, public daycare for children, school lunch programs, public transportation and public emergency rooms. We are living in one of the fastest growing areas in the United States; this is why it is so important that everyone be counted,” he said.

For residents that have received a census questionnaire, this is the last week to send it back in the mail. Those who do not are slated to receive a visit by a Census worker. As of Monday, the border region was lagging behind the rest of the state and nation in responding to the questionnaire.

Only 52 percent of Hidalgo County residents had mailed back their Census forms, as of Monday. In Cameron County the figure was also 52 percent. In Starr County the figure was 43 percent and in Willacy County it was 46 percent.

In El Paso County the figure was 63 percent. In Nueces County the figure was 59 percent. In Jim Wells County the figure was 46 percent. In Jim Hogg County the figure was 37 percent. In Val Verde County the figure was 52 percent. One of the worst performing counties in the nation is Zapata, which, as of Monday, had a participation rate of 20 percent.

The Census Bureau is also tracking participation rates in individual cities. In McAllen, as of Monday, the figure was 56 percent. In Edinburg, it was 51 percent, in Mission, 54 percent, in Pharr, 52 percent, in San Juan, 52 percent, and in Alamo, 50 percent. In Weslaco, the figure was 55 percent, in Donna, 50 percent, in Mercedes, 53 percent and in Santa Rosa 47 percent. One of the worst performing cities in Hidalgo County is La Joya, which had a census participation rate of only 33 percent as of Monday. Most La Joya residents did not receive Census questionnaires in the mail and are having to rely on visits from “Update/Enumerate” workers.

“We clearly need to do better,” Hidalgo County Judge Rene Ramirez told the Guardian on Monday. He said he would be getting county departments to send out e-mail alerts to stress the importance of participating in the Census. In addition, Ramirez, who launched the Yo Cuento 2010 campaign, said he would be going on TV to get the word out. “These are the population numbers we will have to live with for the next ten years. So much of our funding is based upon on the Census numbers,” he said.

Of the cities in Cameron County, Brownsville had a census participation rate of 54 percent, as of Monday. In Harlingen it was 58 percent and in San Benito it was 60 percent.

The non-profits that work in colonias are, like Hinojosa, Ramirez, and others, very concerned about the low rate of participation in Census 2010.

“We are doing the best we can in spite of the confusion over the census form mail-in vs home visits to colonia residents,” said Juanita Valdez-Cox, director of La Unión del Pueblo Entero. “At this late point in time we need to concentrate on the best possible count. We also need to continue with the discussions about how to avoid the problems created by the present methods of counting colonia residents.”

Mike Seifert is network weaver for Equal Voice for America’s Families in the Valley. The group is spearheading the efforts of ten non-profits in getting a good census count.

“I hate the idea that better off areas like Dallas or Houston are going to get the funding parks, roads, and schools that should be going to us here in the Valley, simply because those folks bothered to mail in their forms,” Seifert said. “There is still time, and I would say to each and every Valley family—it is past time to stand up and be counted.”

Write Steve Taylor

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