Can someone tell me when the Census Bureau began counting undocumented immigrants?

[cynatnite]

I'm having trouble finding this information. I thought it began in 2000, but I'm not sure.

[Capn Sunshine]

1. do you mean undocumented immigrants? Because people can't be illegal.

I think it was 2010 by the way.

[Igel]

4. But many have documents.

Not just American ones.

If "illegal immigrant" means "an illegal person who has immigrated" then an "undocumented immigrant" can only mean "an undocumented person who has immigrated."

Few "undocumented immigrants" are truly undocumented. Most of those deported are, consequently, not undocumented immigrants.

Unless you mean "a person who has immigrated and lacks American documents". In which case I guess we're stuck with "not-properly-American-documented immigrants." Anything else wouldn't be good English, I guess. We can refer to them all as N-PADIs.

Makes me glad I speak a natural language in which communities of speakers have a variety of processes for imparting semantic content.

(Personally, I always took "illegal" to be underlyingly an adverb. "A person who immigrates in an illegal manner." Just like a "good musician" is a "person who plays music well", not "a good person who plays music." English sometimes has formal concord that messes up the underlying semantics.)

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's most definitely a canard.

[provis99]

7. Illegal immigrant is not politically correct.

[TBMASE]

2. It should have begun with the first census

since it's not supposed to be a count of citizens

[rurallib]

3. long ago - I think @1900

too tired to look.

[Ohio Joe]

5. If I recall correctly... Always.

I worked on the 2010 Census. The goal of the Census is to count people, it was the one piece of information we really wanted, everything else was optional.

[kestrel91316]

6. They officially count EVERYONE residing in the US.

And they don't check papers, or even ask if someone is here legally.

[Brickbat]

8. From way back, I would think. All you ask is who was living at Address X on April 1 in the census

year. You don't ask about "documented" status.

[Historic NY]

9. Since the 1st Census in 1790...all other persons

[krispos42]

10. Bah, you beat me to it! n/t