I have posted information several times about Trump’s intention to list a question about citizenship on the 2020 census. That is a horrible idea for several reasons that I have stated in previous blog posts.
Now in late April 2019 there is more news about that.
BACKGROUND AND PREVIOUS INFORMATION:
AND
http://parallaxperspectives.org/updates-protect-the-2020-census-from-trumps-anti-immigrant-bias
NEWS IN APRIL 2019
On April 17, 2019, the national ACLU provided this information, which they encourage people to share widely. (I’ve edited it only slightly here):
Watch the video at the link at the end of this message, and share it with other people. The census citizenship question would lead to under-reporting that has huge consequences for our democracy.
You know why? For each state, the census decides…
• The number of representatives we get in Congress
• The number of votes we get in the electoral college (pretty relevant for 2020)
• How much federal funding we get for stuff like schools, healthcare, and roads
• The data state officials use to prepare for natural disasters – like hurricanes and meteors hitting the earth (obviously)
The whole point of the census is for everyone to get counted. It’s literally in the U.S. Constitution!
By the Trump administration’s own estimates, 6.5 million people won’t respond to the census if the question goes forward. Given the Trump administration’s track record for how they treat immigrants, it’s not difficult to understand why.
The ACLU is going to the Supreme Court to fight the citizenship question on April 23, but us non-lawyers have a job to do, too: Watch this census elevator pitch, and then share it with your neighbors, friends, family members (seriously, everyone) so we all know why the census matters – and why the citizenship question has no place on it.
Here is the ACLU’s video about this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dNTkC4QaM&feature=youtu.be
On April 26, 2019, the NAACP sent this information about their legal efforts to make the 2020 census fair. (I’ve edited the NAACP’s message somewhat to save space here:)
This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that will have a significant impact on the outcome of the next Census—and could have a devastating effect on elections and marginalized communities for decades to come. The Trump administration is pushing to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census questionnaire. The NAACP and other civil rights groups believe that would intimidate communities of color and immigrant communities from participating in the count.
Census results serve as the basis for redistricting, the enforcement of voting rights laws, and allocating congressional seats to each state. The population data is also used by the federal government to distribute billions of dollars to local, state, and tribal governments. An undercount would deprive communities of critical federal resources and dilute the political power of racial and ethnic minorities.
That’s why the NAACP is in the fight to block the citizenship question. We filed a friend-of-the-court brief to urge the Supreme Court to reject the addition of the question.
The article at this link says Trump’s attacks on Census go far beyond the citizenship question:
https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-attacks-on-census-go-well-beyond-citizenship-question/
Tell Congress to protect the Census:
A number of state governments (including Washington through Atty. Gen. Bob Ferguson) and a number of non-profit organizations are suing to remove Trump’s anti-immigrant question. Tell Congress to pass the Census IDEA Act. Use this link provided by Common Cause: https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-citizenship-question-pass-the-census-idea-act/?link_id=0&can_id=1d662460c0abb8939c5044c82927552b&source=email-how-you-can-save-the-census&email_referrer=email_535427&email_subject=how-you-can-save-the-census
Another petition supporting this legislation is at this link, so please sign this one too: https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/letters/sign-and-send-the-petition-to-your-representative-we-need-legislation-to-block-trumps-racist-citizenship-question-from-the-2020-census?detail=emailactionLL&link_id=2&can_id=1d662460c0abb8939c5044c82927552b&source=email-scotus-is-hearing-arguments-on-trumps-racist-citizenship-question-today-signatures-needed&email_referrer=email_534481&email_subject=scotus-is-hearing-arguments-on-trumps-racist-citizenship-question-today-signatures-needed
On April 24, 2019, Democracy Now! covered the issue.
Watch and/or read at this link: https://www.democracynow.org/2019/4/24/a_threat_to_democracy_justices_appear?utm_source=Democracy+Now%21&utm_campaign=d00da5eab6-Daily_Digest_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fa2346a853-d00da5eab6-191704661
The Supreme Court’s conservative majority seems to support Trump’s citizenship question.
I copied this information from a reliable source but omitted the footnotes from the New York Times, Washington Post, Bloomberg, and Reuters: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled it would allow the Trump administration to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The census hasn’t asked a citizenship question since 1950 and lower courts have blocked the question, ruling that the Trump administration violated federal law and the U.S. Constitution by seeking to include it on the census form. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, directed most of their questions during arguments to the lawyers challenging the decision to ask about citizenship. Courts have found that several states could lose seats in the House, as well as federal money.