Posts Tagged ‘immigrants’
Census strategies
Massachusetts is pushing hard to get its immigrant population counted. As such a high percentage of Massachusetts residents are immigrants (14%), this will be critical. They are unfamiliar with the process, meaning that reaching out to them will be key in saving the 10th Congressional District and billions in federal funding. Additionally, a private group, the Massachusetts Census Equity Fund, is raising and distributing funds to community groups to raise awareness of the census and increase the response rate, the Boston Globe reports. Promoting the census through community groups will be key for getting the immigrants to respond, as
“Immigrants, now 14 percent of the state, are among the hardest-to-count groups for a number of reasons. Some are unfamiliar with the census, others are from countries with repressive regimes that left them reluctant to divulge personal information to the government, and a minority are here illegally and fear deportation.” (Boston Globe)
However, I think Secretary Galvin can pull things together and save our Congressional District, especially since we saw an influx of immigrants (foreign and domestic) last year. Plus, there is much room for improvement, as
“In 2000, only 69 percent of Massachusetts households returned the form by mail, close to the national average, and it was lower in many cities where a high proportion of residents are immigrants or poor.” (Boston Globe)
Will Galvin’s strategies work? We shall see.
