CALEXICO — With less than a week to be counted in the 2020 Census before the shortened federal deadline of Sept. 30, the county of Imperial, city of Calexico, Neighborhood House and other groups pushing last-minute participation in the decennial event took to the streets of Calexico during the final Car Caravan on Sept. 22.
Volunteers handing out balloons and riding in cars, trucks and SUVs with hand-painted signs rode in single-file with classic cars, lowriders, motorcyclists, and others to drum up support for the count that community groups and census leaders say funnel billions of dollars in education and healthcare programs to local communities across the country.
Communities like Calexico, in which the last of the county caravans have occurred, are among the most difficult communities to get an accurate count due to language barriers and long-held fears in the census process.
The Sept. 22 caravan started outside City Hall, on Fourth Street in front of Rockwood Park.
California’s response rate was 67.2 percent at the end of August. That’s higher than the national average of 64.9 percent and that of the three other most populous states — Florida, New York and Texas — but it’s 1 percent below California’s 2010 response rate.
Locally, Imperial County’s self-reported response rate at the end of August was 57.6 percent.
A Calexico Census volunteer hands out balloons to all Census Car Caravan participants who came out Sept. 22 to drum up last-minute support for the decennial event, which wraps up Sept. 30. | CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO An SUV with its windows painted with messages encouraging Calexico residents to participate in the 2020 Census tally makes its way through city streets on Sept. 22, just days before the end of the 10-year count, Sept. 30. | CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO 
A row of motorcyclists lines up outside Rockwood Park in Calexico on Sept. 22 in anticipation of participating in the 2020 Census Caravan put on by the county, the city of Calexico, Neighborhood House and others to get out last-minute support to be counted. The census count ends Sept. 30. | CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO 
Calexico-area bikers draw attention to their rides by peeling their tires and smoking the crowd during the 2020 Census Caravan on Sept. 22 in Calexico. | CORISSA IBARRA PHOTO
This story is featured in the Sep 24, 2020 e-Edition.
