and ASAM NEWS
The next Census will take place in 2020, but 2019 will be filled with debate over whether or not to ask the question about citizenship. Chief among issues is a question asking for the citizenship status of individuals.
Last year, against the recommendations of the Census Bureau, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross approved a request from the Justice Department to add the following question to the 2020 census: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” despite the fact the question hasn't been used since 1950.
"Make no mistake – immigrants and citizens who have immigrants in their household will be reluctant to participate in a census that asks about citizenship," warns Asian Americans Advancing Justice, a nonprofit legal advancy group in a statement.EDITOR'S NOTE: What's Up, 2019: is part of series of posts about issues facing the AAPI community in the coming year.
"The resulting undercount will be devastating to the Asian Pacific American community because as a whole, they are the 'newest' Americans, with 92 percent of the community comprised of individuals who are foreign-born or are the children of immigrants," the statement continues.
Supporters of the question, added at the last minute and skipped the normal testing before being approved, say its inclusion is logical and necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act.
“I’m perplexed and surprised that of the sudden concern over the Voting Rights Academy. We have legislation in Congress that we can work on together if they are concerned about the Voting Rights Act,” said Rep. Grace Meng after hearings involving Secretary Ross. “The Trump campaign, in my previous unrelated question, was about the Trump campaign sending out a campaign email asking about how people felt about the inclusion of this new citizenship question. So, they are, indeed, politicizing the census.”
Adding the question in 2020, in the current atmosphere of xenophobia spurred by the anti-immigration rhetoric coming out of the White House, will depress an actual count, say civil rights advocates. They believe that immigrants, no matter their legal status, will hesitate to participate in the decennial count out of fear that the information would be used against them to the point of getting deported.
Their fear is not unfounded. The reason the question was thrown out in the first place is because the Census was used to identify, locate and imprison Japanese Americans during World War II.
Despite the government’s denial, records confirm that the Bureau provided the U.S. Secret Service with specific names and residential addresses of Japanese Americans.
According to WAMU, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John DeWitt, who oversaw and supported the mass removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, wrote in a 1943 report for the War Department: “The most important single source of information prior to the evacuation was the 1940 Census of Population.”
According to WAMU, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. John DeWitt, who oversaw and supported the mass removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast, wrote in a 1943 report for the War Department: “The most important single source of information prior to the evacuation was the 1940 Census of Population.”
“The consequences of adding this question are far too great to just sit by silently,” says Sharon Sakamoto, 75, who was born in the Minidoka prison camp located in Idaho.
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TWITTER / NEW YORK IMMIGRATION COALITION
Rep. Grace Meng speaks at a New York City rally protesting the citizenship question. |
Former Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta also opposes the proposed question and wants the government to remember its history. Mineta, 87, was sent to a Wyoming prison camp with his family when he was 10 years old, and worries that the intentions of the citizenship question is to intimidate.
“One of the things it does is intimidate people,” he says. “All I could think of was what it was like for [Japanese-American] evacuees to be facing a census and whether or not that information could be used.”
“One of the things it does is intimidate people,” he says. “All I could think of was what it was like for [Japanese-American] evacuees to be facing a census and whether or not that information could be used.”
Supporters of the question, added at the last minute and skipped the normal testing before being approved, say its inclusion is logical and necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act.
After the hearings, it was learned that Ross lied to the members of the House Commerce Committee. While under oath, Meng asked Ross where the question came from and he lied, saying he wasn’t sure but that it wasn’t him or the White House that was involved. Emails show former White House aide Steve Bannon asked Ross to do it while he was still at the White House.
"He (Ross) lied to my face," said Meng. She said it is now clear that adding the question was politically motivated. Critics, including former Census Bureau directors, fear the administration will use the question to suppress voter participation and will undercount the immigrants who fear the information will be used tby Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport immigrants, no matter their status.
The controversial citizenship question has previously raised suspicions due to the current administration’s ongoing anti-immigrant tactics. And despite the government shutdown, the administration will still face a trial in San Francisco on Jan. 7.
The lawsuit by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra contends that if the Census undercounts immigrants, it would produce an inaccurate talley violating its constitutional purpose, which is to divide up seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the total U.S. population.
Census numbers also are used to allocate billions of dollars in federal funds for infrastructure, law enforcement, education, health and other social services.
If immigrants shun the Census, it could reduce the number of congressional seats and the amount of federal funding in states with large numbers of foreign-born residents, such as California, which has been a thorn in Trump's side with its opposition to many of his proposals, New York, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington and also GOP-dominated states such as Texas and Florida.
This summer, the U.S. Census is planning to field test a 2020 census form that includes the controversial citizenship question to find out if the question might affect responses to the upcoming national head count.
The controversial citizenship question has previously raised suspicions due to the current administration’s ongoing anti-immigrant tactics. And despite the government shutdown, the administration will still face a trial in San Francisco on Jan. 7.
The lawsuit by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra contends that if the Census undercounts immigrants, it would produce an inaccurate talley violating its constitutional purpose, which is to divide up seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on the total U.S. population.
Census numbers also are used to allocate billions of dollars in federal funds for infrastructure, law enforcement, education, health and other social services.
If immigrants shun the Census, it could reduce the number of congressional seats and the amount of federal funding in states with large numbers of foreign-born residents, such as California, which has been a thorn in Trump's side with its opposition to many of his proposals, New York, Nevada, Hawaii, Washington and also GOP-dominated states such as Texas and Florida.
"This foolish decision will produce long-lasting negative effects. Immigrant communities, fearful of deportation because of the administration's rhetoric, will be less likely to respond out of concern their information is not confidential," wrote Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY, in a New York Times oped.
"If our data is skewed, then our approaches to public health, infrastructure and other national issues will be faulty," she continued. "An undercount will mean our neediest communities may not receive much needed care. Students who rely on the National School Lunch Program may go without lunch, affecting their health and academic goals. In the end, a citizenship question will not produce an accurate census. It will create an inaccurate count, instill fear in our communities, and undermine our ability to help people."
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"If our data is skewed, then our approaches to public health, infrastructure and other national issues will be faulty," she continued. "An undercount will mean our neediest communities may not receive much needed care. Students who rely on the National School Lunch Program may go without lunch, affecting their health and academic goals. In the end, a citizenship question will not produce an accurate census. It will create an inaccurate count, instill fear in our communities, and undermine our ability to help people."
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