CA leaders sue to prevent planned census citizen question
California state leaders filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Federal Court against the Commerce Department and Census Bureau for adding a controversial question to the 2020 Census.
In a news conference, state Attorney General Xavier Becerra said plans to add a question of citizenship would result in the undercount of millions of immigrants in California, resulting in a significant reduction in federal funds.
Locally, an immigrants rights organization is gravely concerned and says everyone in the state, regardless of citizenship status, should be worried.
Lucas Zucker, Policy Communication Director at CAUSE said members of the immigrant community won’t want to answer the question out of fear that other federal government workers would knock on their door.
Immigrant groups such as CAUSE want to make sure everyone in the community is counted and although a citizen question would make the job harder, the group will encourage everyone to fill out the questionnaire.
Zucker said anyone who drives on California roads or sends children to public schools would be affected by an undercount of California’s population.
Another concern of leaders in states facing significant undercounts with large immigrant populations like California is the effect on representation in Congress.
The Trump Administration has said the data on citizenship is needed to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.