Press Release

On Wednesday, May 26 in Fairfax, Virginia and Washington, DC, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF), joined by Census Director Robert Groves and several Asian American community leaders, hosted two press conferences to bring awareness to the Census Bureau’s Non-Response Follow-up Phase, or door-to-door canvassing operations. Across the nation, census-takers have been canvassing neighborhoods to follow up with households that did not return their census forms by mail. This phase of the census, which began on May 1, is expected to last no later than early July.

As of April 28, the national participation response rate was 72%. The response rate for the District of Columbia was 69%, trailing the national rate by 3%. The State of Virginia’s response rate was 76%, surpassing the national rate by 4%. Although the response rate in Fairfax County matched the state rate, many Census tracts in areas with large concentrations of Asian Americans, such as Annandale ( 69%), Bailey’s Crossroads ( 64%), Centreville ( 72%), Fairfax ( 77%), Falls Church ( 77%), and Seven Corners ( 63%), were unable to match or surpass their 2000 response rates.

During both press conferences, Glenn D. Magpantay, AALDEF Democracy Program Director, literally opened a free standing door and said, “When the census comes to your home, open the door.” On the other side of the door were census employees dressed as census-takers, carrying a white, government-issued identification card and an official “U.S. Census Bureau” black shoulder bag.

Community leaders emphasized the importance of cooperating with census-takers, the benefits of participation, and the confidentiality of census information. Each speaker also tried to allay fears and address specific community concerns.

During the Fairfax, Virginia event, speakers included:

U.S. Census Bureau Director Robert GrovesProfessor Nguyen Ngoc Bich, National Congress of Vietnamese AmericansDaniel Seokhwan Choi, Legal Aid Justice CenterBen De Guzman, National Queer API AllianceHemi Kim, National Korean American Service & Education ConsortiumBoard Member, Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington Ashley Nagaoka, Japanese American Citizens League Shandon Phan, BPSOS

During the Washington, DC event, speakers included:Yam Chum Leung, Wah Luck House Tenants’ AssociationRitu Kelotra, South Asian Bar Association of DCDerek Mong, APIAVote!Van-Anh Nguyen, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource CenterPhillip Ozaki, Japanese American Citizens League

Co-sponsors of the May 26th press conferences included APIAVote!, Asian American LEAD, Asian Pacific American Bar Association of DC, Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center, BPSOS, Japanese American Citizens League, Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington, Legal Aid Justice Center, National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, OCA, South Asian Americans Leading Together, South Asian Bar Association of DC, H Mart, the Home Depot (NE Washington DC), and the U.S. Census Bureau.