Surely any such foreign occupier would just demand the unredacted data?

They don't ask about religious affiliation on the census.

1. How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2020?

2. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1, 2020 that you did not include in Question 1?

3. Is this house, apartment, or mobile home?

4. What is your telephone number?

5. What is Person 1’s name?

6. What is Person 1’s sex?

7. What is Person 1’s age and what is Person 1’s date of birth?

8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?

9. What is Person 1’s race?

Nothing really stops you from lying either.

France used to make plenty of lists. We loved lists. Lists are good. Jews lists? Sure, it's maybe useful one day when we want to do something.

Boy were the Germans happy to find these.

The American obsession with asking for people their perceived origins (AAPI, AA, Latino, ...) is more than weird: it's downright dangerous. Don't fucking ask these questions, and never, ever write it down, especially not with names.

Thankfully, now they can just buy it from data brokers and let Palantir target, so that makes life easier for them

"What is your religious affiliation" makes absolutely no sense in a census exercise. IMO.

Asking about your religion on the census is against the law in the US:

no person shall be compelled to disclose information relative to his religious beliefs or to membership in a religious body.

https://www.congress.gov/94/statute/STATUTE-90/STATUTE-90-Pg...