March 9, 2010
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Secretary Janet Napolitano
Department of Homeland Security
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
Dear President Obama and Secretary Napolitano:
We write on behalf of the organizations signing this letter, to respectfully request that all
enforcement activities and operations engaged in by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
and impacting non‐citizens be completely and immediately suspended for the rest of the year in
order to encourage a more inclusive count of this country’s population during Census 2010. We are
concerned that a climate of fear and distrust within immigrant communities due to immigration
raids and other enforcement actions will deter immigrant households from returning the Census
surveys and from cooperating in further Census outreach efforts.
Immigrant‐based communities are among several known to be significantly undercounted by the
Census; in New York City, heavily‐immigrant areas have had less than a 40 percent census response
rate, compared to the citywide average response of 65 percent. Numerous officials have themselves
expressed grave concerns about the challenges faced in convincing immigrants to participate due to
persistent enforcement activity by the same government now seeking their information.
Immigrants have raised doubts about the confidentiality of the Census. While officials have
repeatedly stated that the information obtained will not be shared with other departments,
immigrants well recall similar assurances about the Social Security Administration and Internal
Revenue Service; today, the data obtained from these agencies has provided the fuel for many of
this Administration’s enforcement operations.
Because of these challenges and the severe, long‐term consequences of an undercount, we urge you
to follow precedent and suspend enforcement activities.
For the 2000 Census, former Immigration and Natur