HOUSTON—A controversy is brewing in Houston as the April 1 deadline approaches for the 2010 Census.
At the center of it all are the tens of thousands of New Orleans residents who relocated to the Bayou City after Hurricane Katrina.
Accurate population counts are critical for the Census, and they mean big money for cities.
But New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin wants Katrina evacuees counted as residents of his city, rather than where they live now.
Curtis Green is one of the many former New Orleans residents who now call Houston home.
Hurricane Katrina submerged his home near the Lower Ninth Ward, and he spent days trapped inside the Superdome.
"It was a very horrible time. I didn’t know where my family was. After the fifth day, the buses actually came for us and brought us here with nothing but the clothes on our backs," Green said.
Green met his wife at Reliant Center, where thousands of evacuees were taken. She worked there as a nurse.
His youngest son was born in Houston.
"Houston is a place where if you have any ideals or any kind of ‘umph’ about yourself to go out and do something positive, they’re going to support you," Green said.
There are thousands of families like the Greens in Houston. Nearly 250,000 people from the Greater New Orleans area permanently moved to Texas in 2005, after the storm.
But this latest storm has nothing to do with hurricanes and everything to do with politics and money.
Nagin is asking the U.S. Census Bureau to count Houston’s Katrina evacuees as citizens of New Orleans. He’s even asking them to move back to Louisiana before April 1.
The problem is, his plan isn’t legal.
Federal law requires the Bureau to count every U.S. resident on April 1, wherever they are.
Nobody’s sure how many people live in New Orleans these days.
Most estimates show the city lost half its population after Katrina.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker recently told business owners there’s a lot at stake with the Census, including federal funding, charity grants and political redistricting.
"It’s about money. It’s about power. And it’s about pride," Parker said.
Houston lost upwards of $200 million in the 200 Census, because not everyone was counted.
An accurate Census would bring our region an estimated $1,700 for every person counted, every year for the next decade.
"As for the mayor of New Orleans and all that, I’m sorry. I just think that’s silly. I can’t come up with a better word," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett said.
"Anybody who lives in Harris County on the date of the Census is counted in Harris County. And as for the Katrina evacuees, and I say this not entirely jokingly, I don’t think there is such a thing anymore. Once somebody has lived in our community for three or four years, they’re part of the community," Emmett added.
The political stakes are just as high.
A new population count will re-draw political boundaries.
Houston will almost certainly add two City Council seats, and Texas could pick up four seats in Congress.
"Those numbers are critical. And if we don’t have an accurate count and others do, we’re going to lose out on things we’re entitled to," Stephen Klineberg of Rice University said. "New Orleans is a very special place, and I’m sure that some people would like to [return]. But they’re not going to move back because the mayor tells them to."
Curtis Green agrees.
"I would never move my family back to New Orleans. You know, we’re fine here. And we’re looking at spending the rest of our lives here," he said.
Green now works as a chef in downtown Houston. Since the storm, he’s gone back to school. He also has political aspirations – all things possible because he’s in Houston.
"We owe it to Houston to stay here and be vibrant and continue to add to what they already have," Green said. "This is home. We want to be known as Houstonians."
