Why US rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is tweeting in Bangla

লোকগণনাটি অভিবাসন বা নাগরিকত্বের স্থিতি সম্পর্কে কোনো প্রশ্ন জিজ্ঞাসা করে না। লোকগণনাটি আমেরিকাতে বসবাসকারী প্রত্যেকের জন্য।কেউ আপনার ব্যক্তিগত লোকগণনার তথ্য দেখবে না: আপনার বাড়িওয়ালা নয়, I.C.E. নয়।https://t.co/k2CilCap6t #GetCountedNYC #GetCountedNYC

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 29, 2020

En el censo NO se hace ninguna pregunta sobre el estado migratorio ni de ciudadanía. El censo es para todos los habitantes de Estados Unidos. Nadie verá sus datos privados del censo: ni su arrendador. Ni el I.C.E. https://t.co/k2CilBSNHT #GetCountedNYC

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 29, 2020

The United States Census takes place once every 10 years. Based on the count, federal funds are allocated for public services and amenities. New York, though, has generally had a poor response rate to the census.

According to the NYC census website, “The census is so much more than just a count. Census information is used to determine New York City’s fair share of billions of dollars in federal funds for public education, affordable housing, infrastructure, and more — as well as the number of seats we have in Congress. Because so much is at stake, it’s critical that New Yorkers stand up and be counted in the 2020 Census.”

In the 2010 Census, the city’s self-response rate was less than 62%, compared with the national average of 76%. This year too, the census has seen a 54% self-response rate by July 27.

“The more of us who meet the census, the more money we get for NYC’s schools, roads, bridges, healthcare, housing, and more. Complete it in less than 10 minutes,” Cortez said in another tweet posted in both Spanish and Bangla.

আমাদের মধ্যে যত বেশি সংখ্যক ব্যক্তি লোকগণনা পূরণ করেন, আমরা NYC’র স্কুল, সড়ক, সেতু, স্বাস্থ্য পরিচর্যা, আবাসন, এবং আরো অনেক কিছুর জন্য তত বেশি অর্থ পাই। 10 মিনিটের থেকে কম সময়ে এটি সম্পূর্ণ করুন https://t.co/k2CilBSNHT #GetCountedNYC

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 28, 2020

The census this time is in controversy for another reason. According to The New York Times, on July 21, US President Donald Trump “directed the federal government not to count immigrants who are living in the country illegally when allocating the nation’s House districts, a move that critics called a transparent political ploy to help Republicans in violation of the Constitution.”

The directive can exclude millions of people when deciding how many House seats each state should have based on census. So far, the policy has been to count all residents, irrespective of citizenship or legal status. “The effect would likely shift several seats from Democratic states to Republican states,” said the NYT.