Gov't suspicion to hamper 2010 U.S. Census

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Language barriers, cultural diversity, suspicion of government, hurricane refugees and homelessness will make the 2010 U.S. Census a challenge, officials say.

The hurdles facing census-takers in the upcoming count could be unprecedented, partly because natural disasters and economic hard times have put countless Americans in temporary shelters. There is also as a spreading climate of suspicion over government surveillance and its use of personal data, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Expanded law enforcement powers in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and crackdowns on illegal immigrants are fanning fears among many residents that U.S. Census information will be used against them, Terri Ann Lowenthal of the Census Project, a coalition of groups working toward an accurate census, told USA Today.

"It's the first post-9/11 census," she said. "There's a double issue: concern about immigrants and concern about privacy of data."

Those of Arab-American ancestry are particularly suspicious, said Helen Samhan, executive director of the Arab American Institute Foundation, telling USA Today that racial profiling by U.S. officials has "had a chilling effect" on census cooperation.