(HuffPost) Like many Muslim Americans, Hidaya Assaf, a 27-year-old mother of two, was initially skeptical of the census. She’s Palestinian American, and many of her friends on Facebook were discussing whether it was worth filling out the 2020 survey. She could understand their reasons for concern.
“We think, OK, why do they want to know so much about us? Do they just want to spy on us or do they just want to see if we’re terrorists?” Assaf told HuffPost.
Assaf did some digging online, though, and learned more about the census survey ― how it’s conducted to get an accurate count of the population, why it’s important for allocating government resources and how vital it is for determining congressional maps so communities can be properly represented. She felt reassured. So she went ahead and filled out the survey.
