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Santa Barbara immigration rights group “gravely concerned” about Census citizenship question

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced a lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census.

That lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against the Commerce Department and Census Bureau early Tuesday. Now, New York says it will lead a multi-state lawsuit and New Jersey is on board.

A Santa Barbara based immigration rights group is “gravely concerned” about this hotly contested question. CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) says deportations have surged under Trump’s Presidency and the census data could affect everyone in California.

“We are trying to convey a simple message; We want everyone to count,” said Xavier Becerra, California’s Attorney General.

California’s A.G. calls the controversial question on the 2020 Census “anti-immigrant.”

“A lot of immigrant families are not going to want to answer the census if a government worker is coming to their door and asking who in their family is a citizen or not,” said Lucas Zucker, Policy and Communications Director for CAUSE.

The question that Zucker says is contributing to a climate of fear?

Are you a citizen?

“It makes our job so much harder if folks are afraid because they’re afraid that that’s going to pass information about their immigration status to the federal government,” said Zucker.

California is leading the charge and suing the Trump Administration. The Secretary of Commerce claims the D.O.J. asked for the citizenship data, “Specifically to help us better comply with the voting rights act,” said White House Press Secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Zucker says his immigration rights group cause faces an uphill battle, ensuring the entire community is counted. Critics like Zucker worry this once in a decade questionnaire will have far-reaching effects on the political landscape that should concern everyone.

“If you drive on California roads, if you send your kids to California schools you’re affected by an under-counting of California’s population,” said Zucker.

The citizenship question hasn’t been on the full census since the 1950’s and some worry it could skew the makeup of Congress.

“This is not about gathering accurate information, it is about intentionally under-counting the political representation and the funding for states like California and New York,” said Zucker.

A similar question has appeared on the yearly “American Community Survey”. That survey is sent to about two to three percent of the population each year.

To give you some perspective, the 2010 Census reported California’s population at a little over 37 million.

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