Thread: Governor: Immigration enforcers shouldn't back off for censu

AZ Governor: Immigration enforcers shouldn't back off for census' sake
By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.23.2007
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/border/197782

PHOENIX — Immigration officials don't need to slow or halt raids to round up people here illegally during the 2010 census to get an accurate count of Arizonans, Gov. Janet Napolitano said Wednesday.

She acknowledged it is important for a border state like Arizona to get an accurate count of everyone here, legal or otherwise. A host of issues are contingent on the state's population, ranging from federal dollars to the number of representatives in Congress.

The Pew Center for Hispanic Studies believes people here illegally make up between 6.7 percent and 7.5 percent of the state population.
The Census Bureau already asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement to scale back its activities during the decennial count amid fears some people would be reticent to answer their doors, much less respond to queries from federal officials. At this point the official response from ICE is "no."

Napolitano said the question of raids versus an accurate count is a "false dichotomy."

She said the Census Bureau can go out and count heads "and then augment those with some of the statistically based methods that are based in science for going from 'actual' count to 'real' count."
Napolitano said federal officials already do that.

"You can't ever count everybody all the time because people move around," she said.

"I may be sitting in this desk when the census taker is here," the governor continued. "But I may be on vacation somewhere else, or I may have just moved to another house, or I may just have relocated to another town."

The viewpoint is not unanimous.

Other Arizona officials think ICE should back off — at least during the time census takers are knocking on doors.

Douglas Mayor Ray Borane said he could not put a figure on how many of his community's approximately 17,000 residents are in this country illegally. But he said the percentage is "significant."

However, Sierra Vista Mayor Bob Strain said he doesn't think suspension of ICE raids will make any difference.
"I think if I were in their position and wanted to remain hidden or anonymous, it wouldn't matter whether enforcement pressure had diminished or not," said Strain, who believes his city has a "more than average" number of people here illegally. "I think I would not talk to the census person."

Chandler Mayor Boyd Dunn, responding through a spokesman, said even people here illegally can be persuaded to respond, by being told that census officials do not share information with other government agencies and that an accurate count means more money for government services.
Yuma Mayor Larry Nelson said it's possible that those here illegally might actually want to respond to the census if they're not afraid of being deported. He said many believe that any future federal immigration measure will include some form of amnesty for those here as of a certain date — something they hope being recorded on the census might prove.
But Nelson said the fear of answering questions from any federal official may prove stronger.

Census takers do ask respondents whether they and others in the home are U.S. citizens. But they do not ask their legal status.

Well, I must say that Janet has surprised me once again!! I will have to write and thank her.