Pacoima: One of the Hardest Tracts in the Nation to Count
As Sam Ceja filled out the 2020 census, it dawned on her that her race was not included as an option, so she left it blank. She lives in Pacoima, a neighborhood that is seeing a steep decrease in census response and race is just one issue behind it.
Ceja and her family have lived in Pacoima for about 18 years; this was the first time she filled out the census and she did not feel like her Mexican American identity was included in the categories for race.
“I didn’t feel resolved. I left it blank. I wasn’t sure what to put in other,” said Ceja “I Googled it and I didn’t know what to put.”
Ceja is not the only one facing an issue with the census in Pacoima and that is apparent with the response rates. There is about a 25% difference in response from this year’s census and the 2010 census. The census was already raising challenges with the proposed citizen question and now the pandemic has exacerbated the decline.
Pacoima tracts have one of the lowest response rates this census, according to Ama Nyamekye, former executive director of Educators for Excellence and a consultant for organizations like the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub and United Way. The outreach is there, people are just not filling it out, with nearly $900 billion for over 300 federal programs and a total of $1.5 trillion in federal funding on the line.
“It’s disheartening to hear that,” Norma Quijano, a full-time student at Arizona State University and Pacoima resident, said about her community among the lowest census response rate, “despite the efforts of the local government, how reluctant the community has been on filling it out.”
According to 2018 census data, about 45% of Pacoima’s population are foreign-born residents and 90% of those are from Latin America.
With a community with almost half of its population being Latino, this fear can stem from the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the census and the apprehension undocumented people feel from the current political state. That can cause people to turn away from the census.
“I think because it’s an official government document, this will get back to ICE or immigration services and they’re going to hunt us down,” said Quijano.
Ceja knows the citizen question scares people; when the government starts asking questions about citizenship, people tend to distrust the government. When undocumented people are at risk for deportation and are facing unemployment at higher rates it’s no wonder they do not trust the government said Ceja.
Nyamekye tells people that the census is legally secure, it’s easy and there are multiple ways to take the census when they are confused or worried the government might redirect their information.
Programs and organizations in Pacoima have reached out to its residents to get the word out.
The Pacoima Public library and others around Los Angeles were going to host a We Count! Census Storytime for Kids as part of the Census 2020 Initiative from the Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti, but these events were shortly canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak causing a stay-at-home order.
Pacoima Beautiful, a local organization, organized census outreach events before the official count started. They walked around the neighborhood and spoke to people they encountered about the census. They have also shared useful information on their Instagram and hosted phone banking parties to continue the census outreach in the midst of the pandemic.
“Pacoima Beautiful has done a lot of outreach to squash that myth, it’s been a really helpful thing in our community,” said Quijano about the organization’s work and the fear over the census and undocumented people.
Although the community seems to have put the effort into census outreach, it hasn’t reached everybody.
“If you’re not paying attention, you might miss it,” Ceja said. She recalled seeing fliers with reminders to complete the census and social media posts by Pacoima Beautiful but people have to be willing.
Organizations like Pacoima Beautiful spread awareness that the census has nothing to do with immigration or increasing someone’s chances of getting deported. Quijano understands that undocumented people think the census might lead ICE to their door.
While Ceja and Quijana completed the census, there are others in their community who choose to ignore or simply do not fill it out.
Ceja did not know her community was one of the hardest to count tracts in the nation.
“It makes me sad. It’s hard being from somewhere where I have privileges and others don’t,” said Ceja about being informed.
