The guidelines note that "the Constitution requires that all inhabitants of the United States, including illegal aliens, be enumerated in the census."  They also note that the willingness of undocumented immigrants to respond to the census depends upon their confidence in the confidentiality of the information.  The Pearson memo states that the Dept. of Justice has determined that federal law prohibits the Census Bureau from giving the INS access to any individually identifiable census data or information.

The guidelines direct that no INS officer or employee "shall deliberately or intentionally engage in any conduct that is intended to inhibit or deter any person or group of persons from the fullest possible participation in the upcoming Census 2000."  In addition, enforcement operations during the period between March and August 2000 "should be planned and conducted to avoid adverse effects on census participation."  The guidelines note that the INS will "minimize its visibility" during peak census activity periods, which are periods when census workers are visiting the homes of individuals who did not respond to the census by mail.

The INS will exercise particular consideration "in primarily residential areas," which include all locations where individuals may reside, including migrant workers’ camps and shelters for people without housing, such as the homeless, runaways, or abused women and children."  The guidelines direct that "INS enforcement actions that may result in large numbers of arrests, other than standard patrols of the border and public transportation facilities, should not be planned in residential areas during Census 2000 enumeration."  However, the guidelines do not preclude INS officers from entering residential areas "in order to conduct ongoing investigations."