{"id":89682,"date":"2018-04-03T19:03:09","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T23:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=89682"},"modified":"2018-04-03T11:27:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T15:27:49","slug":"schneiderman-files-suit-to-block-trump-administration-from-demanding-2020-census-citizenship-info","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=89682","title":{"rendered":"Schneiderman files suit to block Trump administration from demanding 2020 Census citizenship info"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"AG Schneiderman leads coalition of 18 attorneys general, six cities, bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors in suit filed today\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Citizenship demand would depress turnout in states with large immigrant populations \u2013 threatening states\u2019 fair representation in Congress and Electoral College, as well as billions in critical federal funds<\/em><\/p>\n

Today, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman \u2013 leading a coalition of 18 Attorneys General and six cities\u00a0and the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors \u2013 filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from demanding citizenship information in the 2020 decennial Census. Demanding citizenship information on the Census would depress turnout in states with large immigrant populations, directly threatening those states\u2019 fair representation in Congress and the Electoral College, as well as billions of dollars in critical federal funds for education, infrastructure, Medicaid, and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the federal government\u2019s most solemn obligations is a fair and accurate count of all people in the country, citizen and non-citizen alike,\u201d said\u00a0Attorney General Schneiderman.\u00a0\u201cFor decades, administrations from both parties have treated this constitutional requirement with the respect and reverence it deserves. Now, the Trump administration is breaking with that tradition \u2013 recklessly abandoning nearly 70 years of practice by demanding to know the citizenship status of each resident counted. With immigrant communities already living in fear, demanding citizenship status would drive them into the shadows, leading to a major undercount that threatens billions in federal funding for New York and our fair representation in Congress and the Electoral College. I\u2019m proud to lead this coalition in the fight for a full and fair Census.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit,<\/a>\u00a0which was filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, was led by Attorney General Schneiderman and joined by the Attorneys General of New York, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia; the cities of New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Providence, San Francisco, and Seattle; and the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors.<\/p>\n

Under the Constitution, the Census Bureau has an obligation to determine \u201cthe whole number of persons in each state.\u201d Yet demanding citizenship information in the Census is expected to depress participation among immigrants, causing a population undercount that would disproportionately harm states and cities with large immigrant communities. Non-citizens are counted in the Census for the purposes of federal funds, apportioning of congressional seats and Electoral College votes, and the drawing of state and local districts.<\/p>\n

On December 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of Justice requested that the Census Bureau demand citizenship information in the 2020 census form sent to every household in the United States, even though the Census is supposed to count all persons\u2014citizens and non-citizens alike. The Department of Justice argued that the collection of such information was necessary to ensure proper enforcement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Yet as Attorney General Schneiderman and 18 other states argued in a letter sent to the Commerce Secretary in February, the demand would have precisely the opposite effect by driving down participation in immigrant communities\u2014a concern that is even more acute in today\u2019s political climate. The resulting undercount would deprive immigrant communities of fair representation when legislative seats are apportioned and district lines are drawn.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit filed today is brought under the Enumeration Clause of the U.S. Constitution, as this action by the Trump administration will impede an \u201cactual Enumeration\u201d required by the Constitution. It is also brought under the Administrative Procedure Act, which permits courts to set aside unlawful or arbitrary and capricious agency decisions.<\/p>\n

As the\u00a0Census Bureau\u2019s own research shows<\/a>, the decision to demand citizenship information will \u201cinevitably jeopardize the overall accuracy of the population count\u201d by significantly deterring participation in immigrant communities, because of concerns about how the federal government will use citizenship information. These concerns are amplified by President Trump\u2019s anti-immigrant rhetoric and pattern of actions that target immigrant communities.<\/p>\n

In 1980, the Census Bureau\u00a0rejected the addition of a citizenship question<\/a>, saying, \u201cAny effort to ascertain citizenship will inevitably jeopardize the overall accuracy of the population count. Obtaining the cooperation of a suspicious and fearful population would be impossible if the group being counted perceived any possibility of the information being used against them. Questions as to citizenship are particularly sensitive in minority communities and would inevitably trigger hostility, resentment, and refusal to cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2009, all eight former Directors of the Census Bureau\u00a0dating back to 1979<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents \u2013 affirmed that a citizenship question would depress participation and lead to a significant undercount, undermining the purpose of the Census itself.<\/p>\n

As today\u2019s lawsuit describes, the administration\u2019s decision is inconsistent with the Census Bureau\u2019s constitutional and statutory obligations, is unsupported by the stated justification, departs from decades of settled practice without reasoned explanation, and fails to consider the availability of alternative data that can effectively serve the federal government\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit also emphasizes the irreparable harm that will result from inaccuracies in the 2020 Census caused by demanding citizenship information. Hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds are directly tied to demographic information obtained through the census, including the Highway Trust Fund and other Department of Transportation grants, Child Care Development Grants, and Medicaid. Consequently, inaccurate counts can potentially deprive states of much-needed funds designed to protect low-income and vulnerable communities.<\/p>\n

The decennial census is also used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives, and each plaintiff state relies on population information from the Census Bureau to draw statewide redistricting plans for their Congressional and state legislative districts. Demanding citizenship information would cause disproportionate undercounts in communities with immigrant populations and therefore prevent plaintiff states from fulfilling the one-person, one-vote constitutional requirement, as well as create distributional inaccuracies in the data states use to draw district lines.<\/p>\n

In addition, the citizenship demand would depress Census participation within the states\u2019 diverse immigrant and undocumented populations, leading to inaccurate responses and a significant undercount of the states\u2019 residents. As a result, an undercount of population in states that are home to large immigrant communities will impair fair representation, a principle fundamental to the fabric of our democracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City is joining Attorney General Schneiderman\u2019s lawsuit to stop President Trump from this unprecedented move to politicize the census. A fair and accurate 2020 count is constitutionally mandated to ensure political power and resources remain with the people \u2013 where they belong. President Trump\u2019s decision puts our amazing city of immigrants in jeopardy and threatens federal funding for infrastructure, health care and public safety in New York,\u201d said\u00a0Mayor de Blasio.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake, the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census is an unconstitutional attempt to politicize the Census for partisan gains,\u201d said\u00a0Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.\u201cEvery effort must be made to fight this thinly veiled attempt to wage an unconstitutional assault on our census. That\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to support this suit and I intend to lead an amicus brief of members of Congress in support of this effort. I\u2019ve also introduced the 2020 Census IDEA act, to prevent this and any other last-minute changes that threaten the integrity of the census.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of the U.S. census is to count every person living in this country, regardless of immigration status, so the government can most effectively serve the people. Adding an untested question on citizenship will silence noncitizens, including those with visas, and no doubt suppress the census data. Thus, states like New York with larger immigrant populations will once again feel the pinch and lose critical federal dollars. It\u2019s a blatant attempt by this Administration to undercount areas with large immigrant populations and we can\u2019t allow that happen. I\u2019m proud to stand with Attorney General Schneiderman in opposition to this politically motivated, wrongheaded decision,\u201d said\u00a0Congressman Eliot Engel.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe census is one of the federal government\u2019s fundamental obligations, and this politically-motivated change will make it harder to get an accurate count of residents within our borders and will scare many non-citizens further into the shadows for no reason. When we don\u2019t get the census right, there are real consequences for our economy and the basic functioning of public services,\u201d said\u00a0Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. \u201cHate is a disease, and it twists and corrupts anything it touches, even the census. I applaud Attorney General Schneiderman and his colleagues for fighting back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already strongly suspect that urban populations like Brooklyn have been chronically undercounted, and President Trump\u2019s call for a citizenship question in the 2020 US Census will further undercut the accuracy of this critical count by discouraging the participation of immigrant Americans,\u201d said\u00a0Brooklyn Borough President\u00a0Eric Adams.\u00a0\u201cThis decennial process is hard enough without putting additional barriers in place. I thank Attorney General Schneiderman for bringing a lawsuit against this misguided policy on behalf of all New Yorkers. In the months ahead, my administration will work in partnership with community-based groups throughout our borough to make certain that all of our residents are accurately reflected in the census. It\u2019s time for Brooklyn to ensure we receive the representation and resources that we are entitled to and deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince becoming president, Donald Trump has he has not missed an opportunity to divide this country, building walls between the realities of the contributions that immigrants have made to our country while also spreading lies that cater to his alt-right base. This move has the potential to decrease participation in the 2020 Census in vulnerable communities, create a database that could be used to punish immigrant communities and cause New York City to lose federal resources. Attorney General Schneiderman is leading the way for the entire nation to fight this policy, and I am proud to support his efforts to fight the Trump administration and preserve the sanctity of the 2020 Census,\u201d said\u00a0Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.<\/p>\n

State Senator Jose Peralta (D-Queens)\u00a0said,\u00a0\u201cThe citizen question on the Census 2020 is just another attack on our immigrant communities coming from Trump and his administration. No one should be using the census as a political tool, especially when the goal of the questionnaire is to get a real count of the population. These un-American, racist tactics will hurt us because it will provide a bad, inaccurate count, since many immigrants, out of fear, won\u2019t participate. I applaud Attorney General Schneiderman\u2019s efforts to challenge this\u00a0reckless, unnecessary\u00a0question from being included in the Census 2020.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe citizenship question threatens the accuracy of the census,\u201d said\u00a0Steven Rubenstein, Chairman of The Association for a Better New York. \u201cABNY is proud to stand with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to fight this change to the census form that will discourage hard to count populations from participating, thereby depriving New York of our correct federal funding and congressional representation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only will a citizenship question in the next census undermine the accuracy of the data we collect, it will put New York at risk of losing funding and representation. Even worse, it will target the immigrant communities who make the city we love diverse. Kudos to Attorney General Schneiderman as he leads the fight against this ill-advised move,\u201d said\u00a0Julie Samuels, Executive Director, Tech:NYC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is impossible to overstate the importance of an accurate census count for the political and economic health of our state and our nation,\u201d said\u00a0Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause\/NY. \u201cCommon Cause\/NY is grateful to our Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, for leading state Attorneys General in an important lawsuit that seeks to safeguard an accurate census count by removing an unnecessary and chilling citizenship question from the census survey.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AG Schneiderman leads coalition of 18 attorneys general, six cities, bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors in suit filed today\u00a0 Citizenship demand would depress turnout in states with large immigrant populations \u2013 threatening states\u2019 fair representation in Congress and Electoral College, as well as billions in critical federal funds Today, New York Attorney General Eric T. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23810,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wellbeing","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Attorny_General_Eric_T_Schneiderman.jpg?fit=260%2C221&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-nku","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=89682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/70131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=89682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=89682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=89682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}