By Laszlo Bartus, Amerikai Nepszava
MONTCLAIR, NJ — While the coronavirus pandemic has kept census efforts mostly online since March, hundreds of thousands of enumerators have started knocking on doors nationwide since August 11.
In New Jersey, American Hungarian households that have not yet responded to the 2020 Census can expect a visit from census takers, or known as enumerators — and many of them can speak Hungarian.
Hungarian immigrants are considered to be among the hard-to-count communities in the state.
The decennial count is mandatory. According to Census Bureau officials, enumerators are thoroughly trained to do their job; they know the questions that they need to ask and keep all the responses confidential.
Enumerators are also aware of the questions that they are not supposed to ask..
“Your responses to the 2020 Census are safe, secure, and protected by federal law,” said Lisa Moore, assistant regional census manager at the U.S. Census Bureau. “All Census Bureau staff take a lifetime oath to protect your personal infor- mation, and any violation comes with a penalty of up to $250,000 and/or up to 5 years in prison.”
All enumerators must also observe social distancing and adhere to the CDC guidelines to make both the enumerators and households safe and healthy.
“The enumerators must wear a mask, and must show an ID,” said Alana Vega, census coordinator for the Advocates for Children of New Jersey.
Community leaders advise Hungarian American households to open the door to enumerators and do the following important measures:
- If the enumerator knocks on your door, and before answering any questions, make sure to ask for his or her government-issued ID card with official U.S. Census Bureau seal and his or her name handwritten on it and/or a black shoulder bag with “U.S. Census Bureau” written on it.
- You don’t need to let enumerators enter your home. The interview can be done outside. If the census taker demands to conduct it inside your home, say “No.”
- The census is free; there is no charge for completing the questionnaire.
- Enumerators will only ask questions that are included in the questionnaire. All questions must be answered.
- Enumerators must not ask any information about your immigration status.
Some leaders of Hungarian American organizations have previously urged households in the community to declare themselves as Hungarians in the questionnaire.
According to recent reports, census data will determine the federal funding for ethnic minorities in the country.
“Write ‘Hungarian’ in the census form,” said Tibor Varganyi, vice president of First Hungarian Literary Society. “Hungarian Americans can successfully lobby and thrive as an ethnic group if the census data shows the real picture of how many Hungarians live in America.”
Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed that enumeration and all other census collection efforts will end on Sept. 30, 2020.
This story was part of the “2020 Census: New Jersey Media Counts,” an initiative of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
