Justice Department Confirms Confidentiality of Census Information

Responding to concerns raised by members of Congress and civil rights advocates — including The Leadership Conference — the Justice Department confirmed this week that information collected by the Census Bureau in the 2010 population count will remain confidential and is not subject to sharing or disclosure under the Patriot Act.

Writing to leaders of the congressional Asian Pacific, Black and Hispanic caucuses, Assistant Attorney General Ronald H. Weich said, “The long history of congressional enactments protecting [Census] information from such disclosure, as well as the established precedents of the courts and this department, supports the view that if Congress intended to override these protections, it would say so clearly and explicitly.”  

Federal laws prohibit the Census Bureau and its employees from sharing any personally identifiable information with any other government agency, courts of law, or any outside entity, and set forth severe penalties for violating the confidentiality of census responses.

The Leadership Conference and civil rights organizations welcomed the clarification from the Justice Department.

Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, told the Washington Post, “[a]s we have been going around doing our outreach to local community leaders — whether religious leaders or community activists — many people have been asking whether the Census is confidential. The Patriot Act has been passed since the last Census, so what we wanted to do was eliminate any doubt that the Patriot Act has an impact, and it does not.”

The Leadership Conference Education Fund is working in partnership with four national civil rights organizations, and will be working closely with local organizations in 13 key areas around the country to encourage census participation among hard-to-count populations.