A lot of barriers are getting in the way of many Latinos who participate in the United States census. Some of these barriers include the mistrust of government, fright, poverty, and misunderstanding the manner of noting racial identity.

This crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic has added one more challenge now that different community groups are not able to meet face-to-face to deal with the questions referring to the census.

For several, Minnesota's community groups had been reaching out to the Latino community of the state to ensure every person is counted or included in the 2020 census.

However, they are now spinning their initiatives to virtual spaces hoping to guarantee "an accurate count of the Latino Minnesotans.

Specifically, there are approximately 300,000 Hispanics in Minnesota, although this figure, according to the report, could still be higher if everyone, in this difficult-to-count populace, participates in the 2020 census.

Initiatives Through Phone Calls and Social Media

This is the same reason, Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio (CLUES) project manager, Camilla Mercado Michelli, is spending her days receiving phone calls about the census and assisting people in filling out their forms.

Every so often, Mercado Michelli "goes onto Facebook Live" to provide a presentation. Relatively, Minnesota, the community leader said, "could lose a position seat in the US House" if this year's census shows its total population is not keeping pace with the states that grow much faster.

She also told her virtual watchers that this is a critical reason for everyone to participate.

Still, according to Mercado Michelli, the Census outreach activities that were held before the COVID-19 outbreak had the main objective of helping the Latinos in Minnesota understand the essentiality of the count. 

Meanwhile, she's moving her initiatives to digital or electronic outreach and has seen the same level of involvement as some people continue to have more questions about the forms sent them through the mail.

Some Remain Hesitant

Despite CLUES' strong efforts through the leadership of Mercado Michelli, there are still some Latinos who remain hesitant, especially that President Donald Trump's administration proposed to add a question about citizenship in this year's census.

It may not be the final form yet, but Living Word Christian Center pastor, Hugo Bellido, couldn't help but express his concern about it. 

Another concern raised is that there are members of the community who want to know if the information that they are sharing with officials is secure.

As an answer, Patricia Perez, the immigration lawyer said, all information shared is protected and that there are a lot of people who are legally in Minnesota but are not citizens (green card holders or those on student visas). They are included in the count, just the same.

The lawyer added that just because one is not a citizen, does not mean he or she does not have status. Despite this, apprehensions about deportation are also lingering, and people have started to routinely ask how they'd know if someone who's knocking on their door is from the U.S. Census Bureau or a Homeland Security officer. 

In connection to this, the Bureau announced it adjusted the operation plans this year because of the pandemic. However, as of this writing, it is still planning to deploy census takers in May and is currently promoting the questionnaire via Spanish-language web pages, videos, and other related materials.

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