NHLA Condemns Hasty Addition of Citizenship Question to 2020 Census
New census questions typically undergo years of review and field testing before being added to the decennial survey of the entire population so that the Census Bureau has a sense of how people will respond to the question and whether the data collected will be reliable. In contrast, the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was first recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice less than three months ago. Its inclusion, with limited opportunity for public comment and no field testing, suggests that the administration’s decision is based on politics rather than objective needs.
“The Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question is pure politics. Their aim is to drive down the number of Latinos participating in the census, so that our communities are deprived of the political representation and federal resources we deserve,” said Hector Sanchez Barba, Chair of NHLA and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement. “An accurate census is too important for our democracy to let the Trump administration get away with this. We call on Congress to reverse the Trump administration’s decision and we will support any legal avenues to block it.”
“The Department of Commerce decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census is an affront to the federal government’s constitutional duty to carry out a complete count of the entire U.S. population. It undermines the work of the Census Bureau, needlessly wastes millions of taxpayer dollars because it is unnecessary and untested, and is clearly intended to depress the response rates by Latinos. NALEO will join hundreds of others who believe in a just democracy to fight this decision and ensure a fair and accurate Census,” said Arturo Vargas, Co-Chair of NHLA’s Census Working Group and Executive Director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund.
“The Census needs to reflect the growth of our population so that we can make the changes that we need in our communities. The President cannot demonize immigrants, threaten them with deportations and family separation, and then expect them to trust the government with sensitive information. This question is being added to ignore our presence, but you cannot ignore our contributions. Our best response will be to elect officials who represent our values- we will make sure that our presence is felt come the elections,” stated Ben Monterroso, NHLA Board Member and Executive Director of Mi Familia Vota.
“As it stands, the census asks a person’s place of birth, country of origin, and when they came to the U.S. Including citizenship status seeks to undermine its purpose: to count every person within our borders to accurately disperse federal funding and assign congressional representation. Approximately 16.6 million Americans live in mixed status families who pay taxes. Adding the citizenship question to the federal form seeks to intimidate our population who fear retaliation from an already hostile administration. It is lamentable that the administration seeks to hijack the integrity of the census in pursuit of its perverse nativist, ideological agenda hoping to bully the second largest group of Americans from accurate representation. In doing so, it is gambling with our country’s future ability to properly resource schools, hospitals, and infrastructure for decades to come. Every American should be concerned,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, NHLA Board Member and President & CEO of Voto Latino.
