Dear Editor,

I am writing to urge Guyanese Americans to fill out their census forms and return them immediately.  The forms began arriving in people’s residences as of Monday. The U.S. Constitution requires a national census once every 10 years.

The US government mandates that every residence fill out the census form accounting for everyone living at that home so the government can establish an accurate count of the number of people in the nation.  Guyanese and other Caribbean Americans need to be aware of the importance of the census.  Public resources, government funding, and political representation in the nation’s capital and in the state and city legislatures are distributed based on the census data.  The higher the count, the greater the number of seats allotted to the community in city, state and national legislatures and the larger amount of funds that are sent to the community — the data will be used to redraw boundaries (redistricting) of constituencies including school districts.

Also, every year, the federal government allocates more than US$400 billion in grants to states and communities for development based, in part, on census data. The census data also affect school budgets, including the distribution of funds for schools, building of schools, free school meals, college tuition grant and student loan programs, and construction of public parks, pick up of garbage, etc. Community planners use census data to determine where to build new schools, develop public transportation and create new roads, etc.

So, the census count is extremely important. When one person is not counted, the state and the community could potentially lose up to fifty thousand US dollars over the next ten years because the federal government gives between three and five thousand dollars per person living in the community per year.  And there will be no way of correcting the uncounted population until 2020. The Caribbean community was severely undercounted in the 1990 and 2000 censuses because of fear of immigration status, illegal housing, confusion surrounding        ethnicity, etc., and did not fill out the forms.

Several of us are reaching out to others to create awareness about the importance of the census and how to fill it out.  The goal is to increase participation – to get everyone to fill out the form.

The form is simple asking only for one’s name and race.  Afro-Guyanese need only state they are African Americans.  Indo-Guyanese need to state they are Asian Indians and on the blank line below indicate write “Indo-Caribbean”.  In addition to the census count, there is also a sample form sent to some individuals at random for an assessment on several social and economic issues.  This is already due.

If the forms are not sent back, the Census Bureau will send officers to the home to inquire why they were not returned.

It is important that everyone living in the home, regardless of status, even if visiting, fill out the form.  Non-citizens, including illegals, must fill out the form. There is no question about immigration status.  Thus, one’s status should not be a bar from filling out the form.   The info on the form is strictly for the purpose of counting the population for political representation and is not shared with any other branch of the government.  No one will be punished for filling out the form.  However, if it is not filled out, people can get punished as it is the law to become counted.

Yours faithfully,
Vishnu Bisram