Community groups vow to help undocumented immigrants count in 2020 census in New Mexico

Ten community groups in New Mexico plan to make sure non-U.S. citizens are counted in the 2020 census, despite an executive order from President Donald J. Trump excluding them.

Trump signed the executive order on July 21 preventing undocumented immigrants from being counted for the purposes of re-drawing congressional districts after the 2020 census.

"The Constitution does not specifically define which persons must be included in the apportionment base," the executive order said.

"That requirement has never been understood to include in the apportionment base every individual physically present within a state’s boundaries at the time of the census."

The language of the executive order uses those temporarily in the U.S. on business or vacation as an example of exclusion.

But advocates in New Mexico called the President’s order “racist and unconstitutional," in a news release issued earlier this week.

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Orianna Sandoval, CEO of the Albuquerque-based Center for Civic Policy, said the United States Constitution guarantees those living in the United States the right to be counted in the census.

“That includes every immigrant, every child, every neighbor, every student, everyone and this is for the purposes of congressional apportionment,” she said.

Sandoval said previous presidential administrations did not exclude groups based on residency status, and called the act "fear mongering."

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Sandoval said her organization and nine others along with the state of New Mexico and local governments worked to collect accurate counts in communities, even those with residents who are not in the U.S. legally.

“This is critical for political representation, especially for a state like New Mexico, where we have a lot to lose if we don’t have an accurate count,” she said.

What’s at stake in the 2020 census

Sandoval said Trump’s executive order could mean an undercount for New Mexico.

She said  New Mexico’s undocumented citizens contribute in many ways to communities across the state.

“Particularly in rural New Mexico and they must not be made invisible; they are an important piece of fabric of the community on many levels,” she said.

Sandoval said New Mexico could receive around $16 billion in federal funds once the census count is complete.

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An undercount of just 1 percent in New Mexico could result in a loss of more than $780 million over the next decade, said Rosalinda Dorado, community organizer with El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos, a Latino grassroots organization based in central New Mexico.

“Immigrant families and workers are essential to our state, as is being demonstrated by frontline workers during this pandemic. We will continue to work diligently to ensure that every New Mexican is counted,” she said.

Trump using scare tactics

Sandoval and Melissa Gutierrez, census outreach coordinator for the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center, said Trump’s order is an election year attempt to continue fear mongering against those living in underrepresented communities.

“It is obvious that this act is unconstitutional and that the President does not have the ability to unilaterally decide who counts as a person for apportionment purposes,” Gutierrez said in a press release.

She said such an act at this late stage of the census count is merely meant to create fear and confusion so that undocumented immigrants, including those in mixed-status families, do not participate in the census.

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Marcela Diaz, executive director of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a statewide immigrant rights organization, said people successfully fought back a year after the United States Supreme Court ruled against the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the census.

“New Mexicans know what is at stake, and we know how essential all workers and families are to local communities, the economy, and a healthy democracy. When Trump is gone, we will still be here, counted and strong,” she said in a press release.

Sandoval said it is the responsibility of every New Mexican to make sure everyone is counted in the 2020 census.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 or by email at MSmith@currentargus.com or @ArgusMichae on Twitter.