MIAMI _ Given all that Florida has to gain from a complete count in the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census _ including greater political representation in Congress and billions of additional dollars in federal funding _ there are easy arguments to be made in favor of getting counted.
But as local advocates fan out across South Florida to encourage census participation among Hispanic and immigrant communities, both traditionally under-counted groups nationwide, there's another message they are repeating with discipline: you have nothing to fear from the once-in-a-decade count.
"It has to be mentioned very explicitly every single time that census information is not shared with la migra, that it's all kept confidential," said Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
In the run-up to the census _ April 1 is officially Census Day _ FLIC has launched a large-scale phone bank operation, calling 14,000 Floridians (so far) to gauge their attitude on the census and encourage them to participate. Canvassers have also been knocking on doors to conduct one-on-one conversations about the survey.
"The reality is that people will need many touches to be encouraged to participate because they just don't want to draw attention to themselves," added Rodriguez. "They don't want to be heard."
Though immigrants' reticence when asked to share personal information is nothing new, the community's fears have been amplified this time around, advocates say, because of ongoing fallout from the Trump administration proposal to add a citizenship question to census forms. That effort was ultimately blocked last June by the Supreme Court, but some worry that a chilling effect could linger _ and potentially jeopardize the count.
Data released earlier this month by NALEO, a Latino advocacy group, seems to bear that out: in surveys conducted since the citizenship question was blocked, almost half of Latino respondents said they still thought the question would be included in census forms.
The confusion is palpable in South Florida.
"Among the key barriers that we're facing here is that people still believe that the citizenship question is in the census. It's still on people's minds and it's something that comes up constantly," said Josie Bacallao, president of Hispanic Unity of Florida and member of Broward County's Census 2020 Complete Count Committee.
"People are not aware of the Supreme Court decision," she added. "So in the work that we are doing, one of the very first things that we mention is that the census does not include the citizenship question. It is just not in there."
To encourage census participation among Latinos and immigrants, advocates say they have to assuage both specific fears pertaining to the citizenship question and broader concerns that filling out the form could lead to scrutiny by law or immigration enforcement agents.
Educational outreach efforts cover what questions will be part of the census, how the data will be used, and what the various ways to fill out the form are (these include, as a last resort, getting a knock on the door from an enumerator). But in today's highly charged political environment, tendencies inside immigrant communities to stay in the shadows could prove difficult to overcome.
"We've been spending 364 days of the year telling people, 'Don't open the door because it might be ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).' And now we have to say 'Open the door and make sure you are counted,'" said Rodriguez.
"This administration has been very challenging for immigrant communities. ( ... ) People are walking around with fear and anxiety and cautiousness, and that impacts their visibility in many spaces, including and maybe especially in the spaces that relate to government and civic engagement."
The NALEO data substantiates the idea that immigrant and Latino communities are in need of reassurance.
According to the organization's recently published survey results, 61% of respondents indicated they were concerned about immigration enforcement agents weaponizing the census. Seventy-five% said they were concerned that the Trump administration will use census information against immigrants or Latinos.
That means advocates must put an onus on confidentiality.
"We're constantly out telling folks that the information is protected by federal law and that it will not be used against them," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Esteban "Steve" Bovo Jr., who is acting as chair of the county's 2020 Census Task Force. "We believe the more we beat that drum, the better off we are going to be."
By law, the Census Bureau can't share individual respondents' information, including with other government agencies like ICE or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The data that does eventually get published is aggregated, making personal identification impossible. Enumerators who break the rules and share census data face a fine of up to $250,000, or up to five years' imprisonment.
At the beginning of the year, the Census Bureau launched a multilingual ad campaign to explain the process and boost census participation.
But though many of the radio and Internet ads target immigrant and minority communities, none make outright mention of the fact that census forms won't include a citizenship question. The bureau's advertising team says this is because the campaign was developed before the Supreme Court verdict was known.
Failing to specifically address those concerns is an opportunity missed, critics say, and it puts even more pressure on local advocates' outreach efforts.
"At the end of the day, the census really depends on local work," said Bacallao.
In the run-up to the 2020 count in Florida, underfunding at the state level on Census-related efforts has left local governments and nonprofits with an even bigger gap to fill.
2020 BRINGS CHANGES TO THE CENSUS
In a historic first, the census will have a digital component this year.
Starting in mid-March, households will begin receiving letters with directions to fill out a census form _ which includes questions about race, Hispanic ethnicity, sex, and date of birth _ online. The letters will also come with a number that people can call to respond to the questions over the phone in 13 different languages, another 2020 novelty.
The digitization of the census has raised alarms on many different fronts.
Experts worry that the bureau is making itself vulnerable to a host of new risks, including cybersecurity threats and basic functionality failures. Other critics say the new format could pose a challenge for older, less digitally savvy respondents as well as for members of rural communities.
The change could also alienate immigrants and Latinos, a group that has a clear preference, according to two years' worth of NALEO surveys, for filling out the census by mail on a paper form instead.
"We all realize that immigrants do have a preference for paper," said Bacallao, who allays privacy concerns folks might have by reminding them that online census data will be encrypted and safe.
"What we are also saying is that there will be many different ways to complete your census," she added.
Following the initial invitation sent in mid-March to complete the census online or via telephone, the bureau will mail out additional reminders in waves, with non-respondents receiving paper questionnaires starting April 8.
Lastly, starting May 13, anyone who still hasn't participated in the census can expect a knock on the door from official enumerators, who will attempt in-person counts. That process will last through July 31.
"No one way (to fill out the census) is mandatory at the end of the day, but we do want you to do it early," said Bovo. "The goal is you do not want a census taker knocking on your door."
ADDITIONAL MESSAGES TO ENGAGE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES
Aside from outreach meant to overcome fears around the census, advocates are also leaning on messages focused on community empowerment and public funding, which NALEO data indicates are high-performing and likely to move people to action.
"We know that part of our messaging has to be self-serving, self-interested," said Rodriguez. "There are federal programs whose funding is dictated by the census, and we have to translate that into the individual family impact."
The more details the better.
"You have to be very specific with the examples," added Rodriguez. "You can't just say, 'Oh, it determines funding for our community.' You have to say, 'This impacts the free lunch program at your school.'"
Well-known messengers with strong community ties are also key to successful outreach efforts, explained Bovo, whose team enlists the help of folks like coaches, religious leaders, and social workers.
"In the space of those that have the most doubt, we want to bring in trusted faces and voices," he said. "For example, if I walk into a group of folks that are migrant farmworkers where there is a question about their legal status, we need to make sure that somebody who works with them on a daily basis, like a caregiver or an attorney that advocates for their rights, we need to make sure that person is the one talking to them about the importance of the census."
"That's how we build up a good level of trust with all our stakeholders on this issue," he added. "We're not leaving any stones unturned."
Bovo and his colleagues hope their efforts will help turn the page after Florida's dismal showing in the 2010 census.
That year, Florida had the third largest undercount in the nation, with an estimated 1.4 million people omitted. As a result, the state lost out on about $20 billion in federal funding.
