2000 CENSUS WILL TRY TO REACH MORE NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS

For the 2000 census, the federal government will print forms in five different languages, English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog.  In the 1990 census forms were printed only in English and Spanish.  The change has been made because the government thinks it may have missed millions of people during the 1990 census.  The government will also provide census guides in 49 languages, 17 more than were available in 1990. 

Government estimates place the 1990 undercount at between 4 and 5 percent for Hispanics, Asians, and Africans.  The chances of an undercount are even greater in the 2000 census because of the number of immigrants who have arrived in the US since 1990, over 7 million.  Moreover, because the census also counts those people who are here without authorization, there is a strong likelihood of missing many of the estimated 5 million such people in the US. 

The effort to reach more people with the census also faces obstacles other than language barriers.  Many immigrants fear giving information to the Census Bureau, worried that the information will find its was to the INS.  However, there is a federal law prohibiting the Census Bureau from sharing its data with other federal agencies.

Information gathered in the census is used for many things, from drawing up voting districts to apportioning federal money among the states.

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