Census Will Include Citizenship Question

In a last-minute move that would give Republicans an advantage in maintaining control of the House of Representatives, the Trump administration is reinstating a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. In 2010, the overall census count was highly accurate, but certain populations were undercounted, meaning they were missed in the census totals. If the newly added question increases non-response among immigrant communities as some worry, this could have far-reaching impacts on North Carolina.

Opponents say asking about citizenship will deter non-citizens from responding to the mandatory survey, potentially skewing resident counts, which are used to determine congressional seats and federal funding.

The Trump administration has chose to reinstate a US Census question about citizenship to “help enforce” the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The ACS goes to about 2.6 percent of the population each year and asks about citizenship to this day.

Re “California files suit over 2020 census” (March 28): In an ideal world, asking about citizenship on a census would be OK, but this is not an ideal world.

The question is centered around citizenship status – Asking the question, “Are you a USA citizen?”

Margie Gonzalez, the executive director of the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs, says the question will only add to suspicions many communities harbor.

The controversial announcement has many immigrants anxious that the information obtained from the question could be used against them.

“In so doing, Ross and Sessions explicitly tied the collection of 2020 Census information to federal law enforcement”, says Brookings’s Robert Shapiro.

Additionally, a wide range of community and business leaders believe the question will depress participation of immigrants and US citizens in mixed-status households who fear how the government will use information collected from this question.

In 1960, there was no such question about citizenship, only about place of birth. It also dictates representation in the U.S. House, the Electoral College, and factors into setting boundaries for federal, state and local government districts.

Hillygus noted that a Twitter hashtag, #leaveitblank, already is circulating online, urging people either to refuse to answer the citizenship question or boycott the census.

Some former directors of the Census Bureau have argued that the new rule leads to a “tremendous risk” of undercounting residents, and previous year the bureau issued a report about how recent fears among the immigrant population have led to them being reluctant to participate in surveys. “We also remain concerned by well-documented management and operational challenges facing the Census Bureau”.

FOX 47’s Alani Letang talked with people about the question that hasn’t been asked since 1950. But the Trump administration’s plan to add it to the 2020 census has caused a firestorm of protest. In many countries, a census is used for awful purposes, including drafting individuals into involuntary military service.

“Secretary Ross determined that obtaining complete and accurate information to meet this legitimate government goal outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts”, it said.

The states argue that the question will stop many immigrant and minorities from answering the survey truthfully, if it all, fearing they will soon have unchecked ICE agents pounding down their doors. The Trump administration has made a decision to include in the census a question about citizenship status.

Ross admitted that the question’s inclusion might have an impact on some responses, but “the value of more complete and accurate data derived from surveying the entire population outweighs such concerns”.