General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Trump Administration's Census Cover Up
Last month, we challenged the Trump administrations decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census essentially a door-to-door federal inquiry of the citizenship status of every member of every household in the country. On Thursday, we received welcome news from a federal judge that the lawsuit can continue. The judges decision, in part, was based on an explosive set of documents we obtained from the government. These documents reveal that the Trump administrations public explanation as to why it needs this information is a sham to conceal its discriminatory, anti-immigrant agenda, and they also prove that a prominent member of President Trumps cabinet lied under sworn oath to Congress.
Some background: Every 10 years, the federal government conducts a census to count all people in the United States. Everyone is counted without exception adults and children, citizens and non-citizens alike. This total population count is used to allocate funding for various federal programs and to apportion representation in Congress, the Electoral College, and within state legislatures.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration announced that it will include a citizenship question in the census questionnaire being sent to every household in America for the first time in 70 years. The White House persists, despite unanimous opposition from experts warning that such a question will intimidate immigrants and deter participation in the census in communities of color, costing these communities critical resources and political representation.
Documents uncovered in our case have revealed that attacking immigrant communities is, in fact, the administrations goal, spearheaded by two of President Trumps most prominent anti-immigrant ideologues, and that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross lied to Congress in an attempt to cover up this fact.
-more-
https://www.aclu.org/blog/voting-rights/trump-administrations-census-cover
2naSalit
(86,308 posts)I know you didn't write this but...
It is not, it's more of a head count of every human in the US regardless of citizenship status. I worked the 2010 Census and it is made clear in all materials for training and explaining to the public that this is not a citizenship count, I had to explain that over and over to a few of enumerators under my supervision when they said they chose not to include certain household members because of their status as international student, etc. You count every person in that housing unit, period.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)By adding the citizenship question, they will have the addresses of any non-citizens in the country, if anyone is not smart enough to lie.
This Administration cannot be trusted with that information...Period.
2naSalit
(86,308 posts)I have been keeping an eye on that issue, having been so invested in it last time around. I have that part of the training text so memorized that I'll never for get it, I'll probably forget my name first. That's why there is an instant objection and litigation.
A lot of people don't realize that many of our laws require that we challenge them in court in order to have problems with them addressed, or persuade one or more of the other two branches to recognize that we want action now. Sadly, we now have a government disinterested in hear the people they allegedly represent, we don't matter to them other than how they can put us to work for them or dispose of us.