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US Census Indicates Latino Hispanics Are NOT a Race

Updated on April 17, 2010


If you failed to send in your Census form by the 15th of April (some sources indicate later), you WILL be visited by the US Census Enumerator. If you claim it was sent in, yet, according to Census data it was not received, the Enumerator will conduct an interview. US Law states one cannot refuse to provide the info, but reality is different. The Enumerator will contact you six times either in person or by telephone.

Census occurs every 10 years and despite what most think, the info provided is well protected by Title 13 regarding how secure it is, it is also protected by PII (personal identification Information). Other US agencies have no access to this info as many suspect, it is used for statistical purposes that may benefit a state, a county, a city. For instance, all States have representatives in Congress, the number of a reps that a State has is directly determined by the population count, that is why Wyoming has far fewer Reps than California. Many government programs also use this data to obtain federal money for projects that do impact their community, like, hospitals, highway widening, lunch programs for kids etc. There are many that are totally invisible. The info is protected for 72 years.

When the Enumerator visits your home, the interview can take only 10 minutes or up to 30min, depending on a variety of issues, interruptions, complexity, language etc. The form sent to the residence differs than the one in the face to face encounter. The whole issue about the census is:

What was the the household status on April 1, 2010? was the address vacant, non-existant, a residence, a business. Who lived there? What is there personal data, like, name, age, birthdate, number living there, relationship of the inhabitants and their race. There are no economic or income questions. There are no citizenship questions. The count includes babies, children, foste kids, roomates, boarders, or bums that have no permanent place to live.

The race section of the interview is a bit odd. The Census form includes over 10 different types of races, but Hispanic or Latino is NOT included. Most think either is a race in the same way African American is. There is no explanation given to the Enumerators as to why the Census Bureau chose not to include Hispanic as a race. It is just the way it is. Thus, when the question of what race is asked, if the respondant indicates hispanic, latino, mexican etc., the respondant must either select: some other race (the Enumerator then writes it in the form) or White. It seems that the Census wants the Hispanic person to select "White" as their race.

The races for selection are: White, Black, American Indian, Asian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Vietnamese, Hawaiian, Chamorro, Samoan, Pacific Islander, or Other.


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    • profile image

      rickylicea 5 years ago

      LOL the Census "races" are so wrong. It's amazing that the country that was at the forefront of physical anthropology, and basically invented genetics, has a government so ignorant on matters of race.

      Latino has never been a race and will never be.

    • mio cid profile image

      mio cid 7 years ago from Uruguay

      it is absolutely right latino or hispanic is not a race so i'm glad they finally corrected it

    • technorican profile image

      technorican 7 years ago from Houston

      There is only one race - the human race. It's true - the idea of "race" is artificial. I recently learned that as a "hispanic", my race is African-American. As one of Puerto Rican heritage, I am of Spanish and African "blood." Other hispanics are Spanish and indigenous mixtures. And then there are English, Irish, Japanese, etc. hispanics without a drop of Spanish blood. I am a person of color even though my skin is light. I have a lot of family events that raise questions about race. Stay tuned! And thanks for the very relevant blog.

    • nicomp profile image

      nicomp really 7 years ago from Ohio, USA

      Actually no, we don't have to do it at all. Race is no one's business, especially the government.

    • perrya profile image

      perrya 7 years ago

      Gotta do it somehow, lots of variables about this, not all is evil.

    • nicomp profile image

      nicomp really 7 years ago from Ohio, USA

      Race isn't bad, using it to classify people is bad.

    • perrya profile image

      perrya 7 years ago

      I tend to agree, but I can see how policy could be impacted for programs etc. Race is not always bad. It is just a thing.

    • nicomp profile image

      nicomp really 7 years ago from Ohio, USA

      It's a shame that we insist on categorizing citizens by race at any level. Everyone should be treated the same.