The past month has feltlike a bad dream, except that we’ve been living through it. Each day we’ve experienced new Executive Orders, cuts to various programs, announcements that a geographical area is going to be renamed, notifications that departments are being
closed and thousands of jobs are being eliminated, immi- grants are being deported, etc. This is only the proverbial tip of the iceberg of what has happened since January 20.

And yet, in the midst of this wave of cost cutting by a “department” that isn’t even official because only Congress can establish a Federal department, President Trump sees no problem in attending the Super Bowl at an estimated cost of $20 million and the Daytona 500 at an estimated cost of $5 million. This is a classic example of “Do as I say, not as I do.” I can’t remember a time in my life where there was a period of time where so many planes crashed in just one month. But look at the FAA jobs that have been cut. California has just experienced horrific fires and a new fire season will be upon us soon, but thousands of wild land wildfire jobs have just been cut. I worry even more for my daughter who will be fighting those fires this sum- mer with less support. Many of us are preparing our tax returns right now and it was just announced that thousands of IRS
employees have been fired. How will these returns be processed?

I am a federal employee and right now my job is still secure. I am a field representative for the US Census Bureau conducting Census Surveys. Most people don’t understand that the Census Bureau still operates beyond the Decennial Survey that happens every ten years where every citizen in the United States is counted. Surveys are conducted to get a better idea of what is happening in America.

Each month I receive about 30 cases where I go and conduct a survey with households throughout Linn County and other nearby areas.

Most people are not aware of this work that the Census Bureau does. Sadly, many people aren’t even knowledgeable that the Census happens every ten years, even though it is in the Constitution and has been happening since the 1700s. The Census Surveys have been happening since the 1970s as a way to get statistical information about Americans. Everything is confidential and the data gathered helps public officials, planners, and entrepreneurs assess the past and plan for the future such as planning for hospitals and schools, support school lunch programs, improve emergency services, build bridges, and inform businesses looking to add jobs and expand to new markets.

However, with the recent aggressive actions of ICE, acting under Trump’s eagerness to “solve the immigration problems,” I have found difficulty in doing my work. At many homes, people are reluctant to open the door to speak with me. Prior to my arrival, they would have received mailings from the Census Bureau about the Census Survey they have been selected to complete, so they know a little bit about why I have come to their door. Unfortunately, Trump has created so much fear in our nation and so they are worried about answering their door to a stranger.

Let me be clear, in the situations where people finally do answer their door to me and we are able to talk, I have found that the people are here legally. They are just so worried that ICE might come to their door and not ask questions and not allow them to speak for themselves. I’m sure that this is not the America that they were expecting when they went through so much to get here. They are probably feeling like they left their home countries only to feel like they are right back where they came from.

I keep thinking of the words from the poem “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus. It is at the base of the Statue of Liberty. Everyone should read the entire poem; it is powerful. Lazarus refers to the Statue of Liberty as the “Mother of Exiles.” When we are hurt or discouraged, don’t we all just want to go to our mother for help? At the end of the poem are the famous lines and what this “mother” will do, what our country should do for all exiles and refugees:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

I’ve said it before; when we start rounding up people that we feel don’t measure up as Americans, then we are no better than the Nazis who rounded up their Jewish neighbors because they didn’t like their way of life. Let us not go down that path; we know its outcome. We are better than this. Think about how fearful your ancestors felt as they first arrived in the United States. Because of their courage and sacrifice, you are here today.

The next four weeks could be even more momentous or they could start to calm down. It’s hard to say. What I do know is that it is our duty to stand up for what is right. When we see fraud and injustice, it is our obligation to call it out for what it is. When we see someone in need, we shouldn’t look away or think that someone else will take care of it. We may only be one, but we can make a difference. Let us stand for the right.