Santa Ana Takes Steps to Ensure It Gets Fair Count During Next Census

The 1990 census is more than two years away, but the Santa Ana City Council is taking steps now to ensure that the city’s population--which includes 40,000 to 50,000 illegal aliens--is not undercounted.

“If we get an accurate count, we’re going to get our fair share of federal, state and county monies, and that’s a significant amount,” Councilman Miguel A. Pulido said Monday. “I believe we were undercounted by about 50,000 (in the 1980 census).”

The 1980 U.S. Census counted 204,014 people in Santa Ana. The city’s population has grown to an estimated 230,000 people since then, partly because Santa Ana has one of the county’s highest birth rates and has experienced an influx of Latino and Southeast Asian immigrants.

Lenny Wiggs, Santa Ana community resources supervisor, said the city’s attempt to get all its residents counted in 1980 was unsuccessful because of organizational problems and resistance among immigrant communities. Some residents were afraid that information they supplied might be turned over to immigration authorities--fears that were fed by raids conducted at that time by the U.S. Border Patrol, Wiggs said.

‘Complete Count’ Committee

To avoid a rerun, Pulido suggested that the city begin organizing a local “complete count” committee and begin identifying neighborhood representatives who could see to it that residents in their own areas are counted in 1990. Pulido also suggested that city officials seek establishment of a regional Census Bureau office in Santa Ana.

“Very soon, all cities are going to be interested in this,” Pulido said. “(But) I think it’s going to impact Santa Ana much more than other cities.”

Santa Ana should receive about $14.8 million in government assistance during this fiscal year, based on Census Bureau population figures, said council aide Lori Howard-Griffin. If the city’s current population proved to be 60,000 more--as city officials hope to be the case--Santa Ana would receive an additional $3.9 million, she said.

“It’s money in the bank,” said Mayor Dan Young at a council study session Monday afternoon. “We ought to chase this one hard.”

A complete count could also help boost Santa Ana’s political strength when legislative and congressional seats are reapportioned, Pulido said.

Would Exclude Illegals

But some politicians in areas with few illegal aliens are supporting legislation that would exclude illegal aliens from the next census. In a letter seeking support for such legislation earlier this year, Rep. Thomas E. Petri (R-Wis.) said, “The basic rights of representation are violated when voters in states with a large number of illegal aliens have a greater voice in choosing representatives in Congress.”

Co-sponsors of the bill include Congress members from West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Kansas, Illinois and Ohio. Other legislators are trying to pressure the Census Bureau into changing its policy to exclude aliens on its own.

The U.S. Bureau of the Census does not distinguish between legal and illegal residents and opposes the idea of excluding illegal aliens from apportionment counts. Asking questions about immigration status “could seriously threaten cooperation even among legal residents,” a Census Bureau memo states. “The answers obtained from such an inquiry would be questionable at best.”

Pulido said the proposed legislation will probably be defeated but urged the council to closely monitor the issue.