Immigrant activist group encourages community to participate in 2020 census

A local organization is encouraging immigrant communities to participate in the 2020 census count, regardless of whether or not a question about citizenship status is on the official form.

Dozens of volunteers with TODEC Legal Center, an immigrant activist group, took to the streets Tuesday afternoon to raise awareness.

Luz Gallegos, the co-founder of TODEC, is spearheading the effort.

“Our communities will drastically be affected as far as the resources that are coming down to the local communities,” Gallegos said.

The group went door-to-door in predominantly immigrant communities to help encourage people to participate in the census.

“They want everyone to be counted, like all the families be counted in the community,” one TODEC volunteer told a constituent whose door he knocked on.

While the group continues to collect pledges, the Supreme Court is deciding a challenge to the Trump Administration directive to ask about people’s legal status on the census. A court decision is expected by June.

“Right now what we’re telling the community is we cannot live in fear. In order for us to resist we must exist,” Gallegos said. “We see the impact that it could have. we can lose a lot of political power or representation.”

Critics argue that including undocumented immigrants in the census count would result in an unlawful distribution of house seats and electoral votes, which could benefit states with more undocumented immigrants.

The 2020 census will kick-off in April. Click here for more information.