California is getting prepared for the 2020 census, and that includes encouragement of its illegal alien population to participate. The diverse community was not pleased to hear that the Supreme Court appeared likely to approve the use of a citizenship question.

Below, the Los Angeles Times gave its census story front-page coverage on Monday, picturing Mayans who may speak indigenous languages such as Yucatec, Zapotec and K’iche’ and often speak Spanish as a second language.

Breitbart’s report on the legal and historic background to the issue noted that “the census started asking about citizenship in 1820 in the early years of the republic, and kept doing so as recently as 1950.” So there is plenty of precedent, and anyway it’s long past time to know who lives in this country.

Some California illegals say they will avoid the census, a decision that could cost the state big time — Sacramento got over $100 billion in federal funds in 2016, and every resident not counted means the state loses $2,000 annually in funding.

In addition, a serious undercount could cause California to lose a seat or two in the House of Representatives — wouldn’t that be a shame?

On the other hand, fewer federal dollars means Governor Newsom will probably demand a tax increase from employed Californians to pay for all the expensive welfare that poor unskilled illegal aliens require.

A census undercount could cost California billions — and L.A. is famously hard to track, Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2019

When it comes to the U.S. census, residents of Los Angeles County are notoriously difficult to track down.

The county, officials say, will be the nation’s hardest to tally because of its high concentrations of renters and homeless people, as well as immigrant communities that may not participate, because of language barriers or because they fear reprisal from the federal government — especially if a citizenship question is added to the form.

Many believe that appears likely. Last week, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority seemed ready to uphold the Trump administration’s plan to add the question. The court’s decision is expected in June.

Already, census workers, community organizations and local politicians have started outreach efforts to ensure an accurate tally in next year’s count. At stake nationally are nearly $800 billion in federal tax dollars, political redistricting and the reapportionment of seats that each state is allocated in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In Los Angeles, home to the largest hard-to-count population in the nation, ensuring participation is particularly important.

“We could stand to lose anywhere from one to two congressional seats, and that primarily impacts areas like southeast Los Angeles and the South Central area, where African American and Latino communities live,” said county Supervisor Hilda Solis, whose district includes some of the hardest-to-count areas.

State government leaders could spend more than $150 million through next year to help verify addresses and expand outreach efforts, according to California’s census office.

[. . .]

“The biggest hurdle we have is for people to feel the data they will give the census will not come back in some way to hurt them,” said Arturo Vargas, chief executive of NALEO Educational Fund. “So we have been pushing that the information you give on the census is confidential.”

Renters are especially difficult to track, particularly in dwellings with non-family members. If the apartment has more people than a landlord allows, they may refuse to answer any questions.

“I’m not that worried about Beverly Hills or Palos Verdes Estates,” Vargas said.

On a recent Friday night, Policarpo Chaj crowded into a small Westlake office and cast his gaze on the projection ahead. He listened as a female census worker explained the importance of participating in the decennial count.

“It’s about fair representation,” the census worker said in Spanish.

Chaj and other Mayan community members had gathered to learn more about ensuring that Latinos fill out the form — and do so correctly.

A census coordinator told the group which questions would be included in the survey and assured them that it is illegal for any Census Bureau employee to disclose information that identifies a person or business.

“Credit card companies ask you for more information,” she joked.

Chaj, director of Maya Vision, said he understood the importance of his community being counted. But he noted that the Latino community is diverse and needs nuanced outreach. He suggested that the Census Bureau provide information in Mayan languages spoken in Mexico and Central America, such as Yucatec, Zapotec and K’iche’. Many in his community feel more comfortable speaking an indigenous language, he said, and speak Spanish as a second language.

A potential citizenship question also has put many immigrants and their families on edge, Chaj said.

“People worry that la migra will get them,” he said. “They say, ‘If that’s the case, then forget it. I would rather be invisible.’”

Sara Mijares, founder of the Mundo Maya Foundation, said including the citizenship question only would make Los Angeles harder to count.

“It’s going to affect not only undocumented immigrants, but American children of undocumented people who will not be counted,” she said.

Other areas of California with large minority populations, including parts of Orange and Riverside counties — as well as rural pockets of the state with hard-to-track addresses or limited internet access — will also prove difficult to count.

For every Californian missed by the census, L.A. County officials say, the state loses about $2,000 a year in federal program funding. California received some $115 billion through federal spending programs in fiscal year 2016, according to George Washington University — money that was guided by 2010 census data.

“For a family of five, that’s $100,000 that doesn’t come to the community” in 10 years, Mijares said. “But someone in that family has needs, from anything like using the parks at night to clinics that provide low-income services.”

Some grass-roots organizations have expressed concern that the communities they represent will disappear from the census count because they will be afraid to participate, lest the government use the information to track or deport them.

A report released Friday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Los Angeles chapter found that many local Muslims were struck by the “invasiveness” of the questions on the census, including the proposed citizenship question. About 500,000 Muslims live in Southern California, according to CAIR. (Continues)