SAN ANTONIO – At Thursday’s grand opening of its office in the heart of San Antonio’s West Side, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Deputy Regional Director Dennis Johnson, as well as federal, state and local officials echoed what Congressman Lloyd Doggett said: “Everyone needs to know, you don’t have to fear the census.”
“The census workers don’t work for ICE. They don’t report to ICE,” Doggett said referring the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Although the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against including a citizenship question in the census form, Doggett said, “I know a lot of the fear lingers on.”
Yet Johnson said, the Census Bureau has a privacy policy to protect and safeguard the information that’s given.
“It can’t be used for any purpose whatsoever,” Johnson said. “In fact, if I were to do that, for every instance, I would be fined a quarter of a million dollars and put in jail for five years. It’s not worth it.”
He said population figures are only available for specific reasons.
For example, Doggett said the 2020 census could result in Texas getting at least two new seats in Congress.
District 23 state representative Diego Bernal said politics aside, “My worst fear is that we get a bad count. You get a bad count, everyone else suffers.”
Doggett said, “What’s at stake are dollars for our schools, for our roadways, for all our health programs, for food stamps and Medicaid.”
Johnson said there are now three options on how to take part in the 2020 Census, by phone, online and by mail.
He said if the agency doesn’t hear back, someone from that neighborhood will knock on the door offering to help people complete the form.
Johnson said 4,500 census takers in Bexar County alone will be hired. For information and to apply online, click here.