Civil Rights Leaders: Fight to Save 2020 Census Just
Beginning
Special to The Truth
Last week, The
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice |
AAJC, hosted a telephone press briefing to discuss U.S.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to
include a citizenship question in the 2020 Census.
Civil rights leaders and census experts from diverse
communities discussed why adding the citizenship question
was the wrong decision, and how it is likely to jeopardize a
fair and accurate census.
“While it would be tremendously easy to litigate Ross’s memo
line-by-line, we cannot lose sight of the big picture: Ross
is simply trying to shrink-wrap a respectable label on a
bottle filled with Trump’s poisonous partisan agenda. In
fact, existing Census Bureau research already documents the
growing reluctance of survey respondents to take part in any
Census Bureau surveys – all due to the “climate of fear”
created by the Trump Administration’s hostile policies and
rhetoric,” Vanita
Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights said. “The civil
rights community is speaking with a clear, united voice:
this decision is wrong for our communities, our democracy,
and our country, and we will fight to overturn it.”
Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National
Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO)
Educational Fund said,
“In yet another assault on immigrants, Latinos and the 2020
Census, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Trump
Administration today chose to put politics above the
interests of the American people. By deciding to add a
citizenship question to the 2020 Census at the 11th hour,
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has further undermined
the integrity of one of the most preeminent scientific
agencies in the world, further jeopardizing the accuracy of
the 2020 Census and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars in
the process. The stakes are too high for a failed 2020
Census, and we will not sit idly by as those with malice
intentions seek to thwart a fair and accurate count of
immigrants, Latinos and all Americans. The fight has just
begun, and we will not stop until we have exhausted all
avenues to provide the Census Bureau with the fix and
certainty it needs to tackle its most ambitious task yet,
counting the largest American population in history.”
“The citizenship question and similar policies by this
administration seek to leave minority communities
undercounted, under-represented, and under-protected. The
Commerce Department has shirked its responsibility of
ensuring that all questions are properly tested and lead to
accurate data. This decision compromises the integrity and
accuracy of the 2020 Census,” said John
C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans
Advancing Justice | AAJC.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a
coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200
national organizations to promote and protect the rights of
all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference
works to build an America as good as its ideals. For
more information on The Leadership Conference and its
200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
NALEO Educational Fund is the leading nonprofit organization
that facilitates full Latino participation in the American
political process, from citizenship to public service. To
learn more about NALEO Educational Fund’s work on Census
issues, visit
www.naleo.org/census2020 or
text CENSUS to 97779 to opt in and subscribe to the
organization’s Get-Out-The-Count SMS Campaign (standard
messaging rates apply).
Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC has a mission to
advance the civil and human rights for Asian Americans and
to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all.
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