Proposal of Citizenship Question on Census Opposed by Twelve States

On Tuesday at least 12 states have indicated that they would sue the Trump administration for the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 census. These states argue that this addition would lead to fewer Americans, which is a violation of the Constitution.

Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York State attorney general, acknowledged that he has been approached by many states to lead this multistate effort to stop the question from being added to the census, uniting officials from Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. California, in fact, has already filed a separate lawsuit on Monday.

Maura Healey, the attorney general of Massachusetts, too chimed in towards the sentiment: “The census is supposed to count everyone. This is a blatant and illegal attempt by the Trump administration to undermine that goal, which will result in an undercount of the population and threaten federal funding for our state and cities.”

The discontent of the 12 states is based upon the Constitution, which requires every single resident of the United States to be accounted for in the census, regardless of their citizenship status. The results are not meant to exclude individuals from the country but to determine school boars, House seats and allocation of grants, funds and subsidies. The addition of the question could isolate immigrants who are concentrated in the Democratic party and the regions they occupy.

In response to the pushback, the Trump administration justified the question by saying that it would strengthen the enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and allows the country to estimate accurately the proportion of the population that is eligible to vote. Opposite from the sentiments expressed by the 12 states, White House believed that this addition to the decennial census was “necessary for the Department of Justice to protect voters.”

However, the White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has indicated the White House’s negligence over potential implications in states that have higher immigration populations, for example, California. According to her, the citizenship question was a constant in all the past census since 1965 except 2010.

This is not the first instance where a citizenship question has appeared or been considered to appear on the national census. However, what makes this different is the political climate where the country is under the looming promise of immigration reform and the border wall and citizenship becomes a critical yet sensitive subject in most Americans’ minds. In fact, the Trump administration has already included this new question in its email appeal for fund-raising this month.

The secretary of commerce, Wilbur L. Ross has admitted that this proposal has received objections from both outside experts and leaders within his department, which is in charge of the Census Bureau. He also noted that the citizenship question, though not previously included in the census, was a part of the American Community Survey.

However, this statement of comparison the two surveys were responded with great criticism from experts, who argued that the two surveys differ greatly in nature, size and public reach.

Undocumented immigrants, which sits at the core of this targeted question, are also displeased and Carmen Queveda who is one in Los Angeles, commented that she would refuse to partake in this census that could entail her citizenship and potentially endanger her status in the country. The proposed addition has already invoked fear in many undocumented immigrants, who have expressed wariness and concerns over their security, family and future. Most have responded that they would not open the door if someone knocked on their door for the census. This confirms the concern of many policymakers and states – the census would not be an accurate and reflective one if the question were to be included.

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