Census teams in Monterey Co. out to count everyone, regardless of legal status

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION)

A memorandum signed by President Trump on Tuesday ordering the exclusion of undocumented immigrants from being counted in congressional districts, is causing doubt and confusion for people, according to Census leaders in Monterey County.

Census teams in Monterey County say they remain committed in counting every single person, regardless of their legal status.

Rosemary Soto, the leader of a census count committee, says the memorandum adds to their challenges like the pandemic and people’s fears of being deported if they participate in the count.

“The information that is coming out, in the way that it is, really creates an opportunity for a lot of confusion. And a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation. It just really wreaks havoc on our local efforts, said Soto.

The memorandum marks the Trump administration's latest effort to change the way US populations are counted and advance the President's immigration agenda, and like previous efforts is certain to end up in court.

“It’s already been challenging enough with a lot of the existing factors that we’re dealing with, with our community members not having enough information about the census being protected. The data being protected,” said Soto.

The Census count ends in October, so far, census.gov reports 62.2% of the country has responded.

Click on the link above to complete the census for your family.