In this report:
- Acknowledgements
- Executive Summary
- Introduction
- Part I - Demographic Trends in Katrina-Affected Areas and Their Impact on the 2010 Census
- Part II - Census Procedures and Operational Challenges to Getting an Accurate Count in the Aftermath of a Catastrophe
- Part III - Operational and Policy Recommendations for a More Accurate 2010 Census in the Gulf Coast
- Appendix A
Difficulties in Enumerating Immigrant and Migrant Populations
A new report by the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy emphasizes that a range of personal and household characteristics associated with HTC communities – poverty, high rates of mobility, and limited English-language proficiency – are "major impediment[s] to full Census participation" among immigrants.26 These characteristics, compounded by unsettled and unique conditions in communities devastated by Hurricane Katrina, will make an accurate enumeration of immigrants in 2010 one of the greatest challenges facing the Census Bureau.
As discussed in Part I, the 2007 Mexican Mobile Consulate Survey revealed that a significant number of migrant workers, many from Mexico, arrived in the Greater New Orleans area in search of work after Hurricane Katrina. Nearly nine in 10 Mexican migrants were undocumented immigrants, a population group that is one of the most difficult to enumerate accurately in the census. While the 2010 Census questionnaire does not ask about a respondent's legal status, fear of law enforcement authorities, arrest, and deportation keeps many undocumented immigrants, and even family members who reside legally in the U.S., from participating in the census. Advocates for immigrant rights in Alabama, for example, expressed concern to LCCREF about the effects of local law enforcement raids (known as "287(g) raids") on census participation among undocumented and even legal immigrants along their state's Gulf Coast.
The consulate survey also found that only a quarter of Mexican migrants spoke English "somewhat or well." Limited English-language proficiency will pose a major barrier to census participation for many migrant workers. While 13.5 million households will receive a bilingual (English-Spanish) census form next spring, none of the designated bilingual questionnaire areas are in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama. Crowded living arrangements, spurred by high post-Katrina rents, also will make it difficult to ensure full enumeration of all housing units, especially if too many people are living in one housing unit in violation of the landlord's policy or housing codes.
As in Greater New Orleans, immigrants migrated to the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in search of work opportunities associated with the renewal of damaged residential and commercial areas. Local advocacy and service organizations – such as the Mississippi Immigrant Rights Alliance and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama – helped migrant workers and resident immigrants access emergency assistance, secure fair wages and benefits for their work, and locate adequate housing. These types of community-based organizations represent the best hope for convincing immigrant residents and migrant workers still living along the Gulf Coast to participate in the 2010 Census.
Next Section: The Impact of High Vacancy Rates and Temporary Housing
26. Branche, Afton, The Next Economic Imperative: Undocumented Immigrants in the 2010 Census, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, July 2009.
