The decision to not suspend major immigration raids during the 2010 census count is a pugnacious assertion of power by federal immigration authorities that could cause all manner of damage.
First, we support the idea of federal immigration officials enforcing existing laws. If various administrations over the last two decades had done so, the U.S. wouldn’t have such a quandary about how to deal with the large number of illegal immigrants.
However, there are compelling reasons for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to avoid high-profile raids during the several weeks that U.S. Census workers go door-to-door in an effort to accurately count the people in this country.
Census workers already have a difficult time getting undocumented people to participate in the count. Headline-grabbing raids make it nearly impossible to elicit cooperation from people who are scared of being deported.
There is a big-money reason why you should care about an accurate count. Census data has a direct impact on how more than $200 billion per year in federal and state money is apportioned to local communities for things like public health, education, transportation and neighborhood improvements.
Think about it this way: If ICE conducts a raid and apprehends a large number of undocumented immigrants, it’s not hard to imagine that others would stop answering the door when an official-looking person with a badge and a clipboard appears on the front porch.
If those people are uncounted and remain in the community while Congress refuses to take on the immigration issue, they will continue to drive on roads and send their children to school. Yet, the undercount means the local community is at risk for getting inadequate funding to meet its needs.
Furthermore, census data is a main source of information for those who oppose or would like to severely limit immigration.
While the census does not ask people whether they are in this country legally, it does provide a host of information about birth rates, income, literacy and country of origin that is indispensable for all sorts of projections and planning.
It also gives number-crunchers the data to make the most reliable estimates as to how many undocumented people are here.
You can do that by comparing numbers of legal immigrants versus what the census says about the foreign-born people and recent arrivals to the country.
For 30 years, immigration authorities have either cut back or altogether halted high-profile raids while the Census Bureau was trying to do its once-a-decade head count.
We hope that despite a highly charged political atmosphere, this administration would do the same. An accurate count is an important task to be supported, regardless of your beliefs on illegal immigration.
