Official Letters from Homeland Security and Dept of Justice Confirming Census Confidentiality
From Mobilize the Immigrant Vote!
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Washington, DC 20528
March 16,2010
The Honorable Nydia Velazquez
Chairwoman Congressional Hispanic Caucus
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairwoman Velazquez:
I am writing as follow-up to your meeting with the President on March 11, 2010, where I understand the issue ofthe decennial census was discussed. As you know, all of the information the Census Bureau collects, including from people residing in the United States without lawful immigration status, is confidential and protected by law. This information will not be shared with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and may not be used for immigration enforcement purposes. Please feel free to share this information with your constituents.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) fully supports a thorough and accurate count of the U.S. population and we are committed to working with the Census Bureau to ensure our enforcement responsibilities do not interfere with this process. As the Commerce Department has made clear, neither the Commerce Department nor the Census Bureau will ask ICE to refrain from exercising its lawful authority, However, DHS and ICE will ensure that our actions are well coordinated and do not affect their ability to collect accurate and comprehensive data for the census.
We look forward to continuing to work with you to ensure the public is well informed about our Department’s work during the Census and throughout the year. An identical letter has been sent to the other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the concerns you raised with President Obama.
Yours very truly,
Janet Napolitano
www.dhs.gov
Attached Files:
Tags: Census, Confidentiality, Janet Napolitano, Ronald Weich
April 14th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
[...] copies of letters from U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice confirming the confidentiality of Census responses. These official documents can be useful for [...]