Coalition Says Border Patrol Sweeps Jeopardize Count : Census: Latino rights activists call for moratorium on Southland raids. But INS says agents have job to do.

A national coalition of Latino rights activists on Friday called for a moratorium on sweeps by the U.S. Border Patrol, arguing that such actions jeopardize the accuracy of the U.S. Census Bureau’s count.

In a letter to be sent this weekend to President Bush, the San Bernardino-based group Impacto-2000 contends that Border Patrol raids around the Southland hinder efforts to persuade legal and illegal immigrants to take part in the ongoing national tally.

“Instead of promoting confidence in the census process, these disruptive actions by the Border Patrol are fostering fear (and) skepticism and could very well produce another substantial undercount among immigrants,” Armando Navarro, Impacto-2000’s president, wrote in the letter asking Bush to halt the sweeps until April 15.

In an interview, Navarro said “Gestapo-like tactics” used by the Border Patrol have “created a sense of fear and hysteria among Latinos,” making many reluctant to obtain and fill out census forms.

A spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service said federal agents will continue “to conduct enforcement activities, as we are required to by federal statute.

“But we are going to be extremely sensitive and (limit) what type of publicity accompanies our actions,” said Ron Rogers, a spokesman in the INS western regional office. “We don’t want the public to sense that we’re out there disrupting the census process.”

In San Bernardino, Navarro warned that an undercount of undocumented immigrants would shortchange areas with large Latino populations, both in terms of federal funding and political representation. High-profile Border Patrol raids, he said, “increase the distrust Latinos already feel for the government.”

John Reeder, the Census Bureau’s regional director in Los Angeles, said the INS had previously agreed to “kind of low-key it” during the count. Indeed, new INS policy guidelines issued in mid-March require top-level agency clearance for non-criminal, high-visibility operations that might affect census participation.

“I know the Hispanic community is concerned that enforcement activity will make undocumented people fearful,” Reeder said. “If I were here illegally, I’m sure I’d probably feel that way too. But the INS has their job to do.”

Meantime, Impacto-2000 and another immigrant rights group said Friday that toll-free telephone lines set up for Latinos to order Spanish-language copies of the census questionnaire remain jammed.

Census officials have increased the number of lines but concede that demand has exceeded capacity. Plans are under way to nearly double the 88 lines now operating nationwide, said Ken Riccini, a spokesman at census headquarters in Suitland, Md.

Times staff writer Eric Bailey contributed to this story.