Mr. Speaker. the bill which I am introducing today is designed to encourage the participation of undocumented aliens in next years census. Because untold thousands of such persons were not counted during the 1970 census. States. and cities. with large concentrations of undocumented aliens. have lost substantial Federal revenues over the last 10 years. When you consider that $50 billion of Federal fundsinvolving over 100 different Federal programsare allocated annually on the basis of population. it is apparent why every U.S. resident must be counted in the 1980 census. Further. because undocumented aliens utilize the services provided by our State and cities. it is essential that the census include such individuals. The reason for the failure of the Census Bureau to enumerate this particular population is evident. Most of them are terrified by the constant threat of detection and deportation. As a result. they are suspicious of. and make every effort to avoid. all Government officials. including census takers. They also sincerely believe that census information is normally transmitted to the Immigration and Naturalization Service to help that agency locate and deport undocumented aliens. Because of these deepseated feelings of distrust. it is evident that undocumented aliens were subject to a large undercount in 1970. The same will occur in 1980 unless immediate action is taken by the Congress. While some efforts have been made to allay the fears of undocumented aliens that information they provide to census takers will not be used to their detriment. they are inadequate. For this reason. I am introducing legislation which will assure undocumented aliens that they will be immune from deportation if the information they give to census takers is used against them. Specifically. my bill provides that no person can be deported or excluded based on identifiable information provided in the course of the 1980 Decennial Census. I believe that this legislationif enacted and if widely publicizedwill convince undocumented aliens to come forward and be counted. Because of the need for expeditious action on this legislation. I am scheduling hearings on this bill next week in New York and I am hopeful that my Subcommittee on Immigration. Refugees and International Law will be able to proceed to a markup of this bill in the near future. For the benefit of my colleagues. I am at this point the full text of my legislation:
Identified stereotypes
Generalization that undocumented aliens are terrified of detection and deportation and avoid government officials.