CLEVELAND — Melaak Rashid spent most of 2020 canvassing businesses on Cleveland’s west side talking to community members about the importance of the census.

What You Need To Know

  • One of President Biden’s first executive actions revoked a Trump initiative to gather citizenship data through the 2020 U.S. Census and to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the census count

  • Immigration advocates say Biden’s decision was an important step in providing a feeling of inclusion and safety for immigrants in the country

  • The 2020 census data, including the redistricting summary data file, will not include information on citizenship or immigration status 

 

She focused on reaching limited English speaking populations and immigrant families, many of whom were concerned about attempts under former President Donald Trump administration to collect citizenship data through the census. 

“They were concerned . . .; you know what does this mean since they have my information, my household information,” Rashid said.

One of Biden’s first executive orders reversed Trump’s executive order directing the U.S. Census Bureau to collect information about citizenship status and it also reversed the policy of excluding unauthorized immigrants in key census counts.

Rashid is the community and development outreach coordinator for Smart Development Inc., a grassroots organization aimed at bringing equity to immigrant, refugee and ethnic minority communities.

She said the decision brings relief to her and so many others who worked to make sure everyone was counted.

“The next time we have a census in 2030. If they're still living in our community when we can reach out to them, I think about how that will be and how this will affect them and how easy they’ll take it next time around,” Rashid said.

Rashid said it takes years for many immigrants to go through the daunting process of becoming a United States citizen and they shouldn’t be counted-out or treated any differently because of their current citizenship status. 

“They're paying taxes, contributing to society, their children are attending the same educational systems that as us citizens are, they are contributing as a whole to the economic and social well-being (and) fabric of our nation,” she said.

Joe Cimperman is the president of Global Cleveland, a nonprofit organization that works to attract, welcome and retain international newcomers to northeast Ohio,

Cimperman said Biden’s executive order allows for the census count to truly reflect the area.

He said the number of immigrants becoming new citizens is on a fast and steady incline.

“In 2017, that number went up to about 3,500. In 2018, that number approached 4,000. By 2019, we’re at about 4,400 people in northeast Ohio becoming new citizens. What that measure did was to say, we just need a truth in reporting. We need an accuracy. And we are really grateful for that because cities like Cleveland and communities like northeast Ohio are dependent on an accurate census count,” Cimperman said.