If not for the coronavirus pandemic and the anti-Asian hate spawned by it, the US Census currently underway would be the big story in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.
When Census Day arrived, the official launch of the Constitutionally mandated tally, it was buried under the daily news about the rapid spread of the virus, number of cases and how many have died.
Because of the social and economic impact of the virus changing the way we go about our lives, the Census count has taken a back seat in the efforts by community groups to spread the word about how important the count is.
Telephone banking and text-a-thons have replaced door knocking. The cities hard-hit by the coronavirus like New York City have moved their advertising campaign for the subways to TV and online ads.
The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus sent a letter Tuesday to the Census Bureau, urging it to pump up paid outreach advertising and address long wait times at census call centers, among other things
Typically, the door-to-door efforts have played a key role in remnding much of the public to fill out the questionnaire. But without extensive physical outreach, Democrats and voting rights advocates warn the result could be an undercount of populations that can’t be easily reached online — including low-income households, immigrant and minority communities and homeless individuals.
The AAPI communities made up largely of first-generation immigrants, have historically been difficult to count due an inherent distrust in government.
In Queens, NYC, which has a large AAPI population, just 1 in 4 people have so far completed the Census survey, so far, according to Chuck Park of the MinKwon Center for Community Action
“We are concerned the count will remain low due to illness in the family, loss of life, loss of income, loss of a job, and fear of losing one's home, which all make over-the-horizon thinking and civic participation ever the more daunting," said Annetta Seecharran, executive director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation,one of the community nonprofits reaching out to the New York City AAPI.
A study done by AAPI Data found that only 55 percent of Asian American said they were extremely, or very likely, to fill out the census form, compared to 69 percent of white respondents, 65 percent of Latino respondents and 64 percent of black respondents, respectively.
That same study found that 41 percent of Asian Americans said they were concerned that the census would be used against them, compared to just 16 percent of white respondents.
Because the coronavirus has affected outreach, the Census Bureau has extended the response deadline from August 15 to Oct. 31. The Census plans to reactivate field offices June 1.
Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the Census Bureau, said they are seeking approval from Congress to delay the deadline for delivering state population counts used for apportionment — the process of carving up congressional districts — from the end of this year to the end of April 2021.
As of Saturday (April 25), slightly less than 53% of the households have answered the 12-question Census form online or by phone. A paper questionnaire will be mailed to those who haven't answered.
AAPIVote, which produced the accompanying videos, is also providing language assistance is available for some languages. The online questionnaire and telephone assistance are available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Tagalog, Polish, French, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and Japanese.
In addition, the nonprofit, one of several contracted with the Census to conduct outreach within the AAPI communities specifically, will launch a media advertising campaign working with over 175 local AAPI ethnic press across the country to promote census participation. This is to fill a gap that is left by the U.S. Census who is only advertising in certain markets in Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Japanese and Filipino ethnic press.
That same study found that 41 percent of Asian Americans said they were concerned that the census would be used against them, compared to just 16 percent of white respondents.
Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, whose department oversees the Census Bureau, said they are seeking approval from Congress to delay the deadline for delivering state population counts used for apportionment — the process of carving up congressional districts — from the end of this year to the end of April 2021.
The Census results will affect our political representation, the disbursement of $1.5 trillion of federal funds for our physical infrastructure, education, social services and health. The collected data will have impacts on our job opportunities, career advancement, housing and how we are valued and seen in the marketplace.
As of Saturday (April 25), slightly less than 53% of the households have answered the 12-question Census form online or by phone. A paper questionnaire will be mailed to those who haven't answered.
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