August, 08 2018, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Jay Riestenberg, Deputy Communications Director, 202-736-5741, jriestenberg@commoncause.org
Groundswell of Opposition Tells Commerce Department to Scrap the Citizenship Question on 2020 Census
Common Cause joined more than 250,000 individuals and organizations to urge the Commerce Department to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census, citing the threat to census accuracy in all communities that will undermine the fair allocation of political representation, public resources, and private investment for the next decade. The organizations represent millions of people from every state and the District of Columbia, as well as diverse urban and rural communities.
WASHINGTON
Common Cause joined more than 250,000 individuals and organizations to urge the Commerce Department to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census, citing the threat to census accuracy in all communities that will undermine the fair allocation of political representation, public resources, and private investment for the next decade. The organizations represent millions of people from every state and the District of Columbia, as well as diverse urban and rural communities.
Census stakeholders from a broad range of sectors and geographic areas voiced their concerns about the proposed addition of a new, untested citizenship question as part of a 60-day public comment period before the Census Bureau (an agency of the Commerce Department) finalizes major 2020 Census operations and questionnaire content. Under the public comment process, the Commerce Department must consider and respond (at least in summary terms) to the submissions prior to seeking clearance from the Office of Management and Budget for the 2020 Census plan and questionnaire.
Common Cause and its network of 30 state offices organized nearly 17,000 individual comments to the Commerce Department in opposition to the citizenship question being added to the 2020 Census. Common Cause also submitted comments on behalf of the organization's 1.2 million members and activists, which you can find here.
"Everyday Americans are speaking up for an impartial and accurate Census. Adding a citizenship question will weaponize the census against communities of color, diluting their right to political representation and cutting them off from public spending," said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. "Experts across the political spectrum, and now over 100,000 Americans, have weighed in against the addition of the question. It is well past time for Secretary Ross to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census."
"This egregious citizenship question is a political effort to weaponize the census to redefine American democracy for a narrow set of people, and it must not stand" said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund. "The Trump administration is trying to fundamentally change what this country is, and aspires to be, by creating different classes of people. The Constitution requires the Census to count each and every person - and the inclusion of this question will sabotage that solemn duty. But it is clear that a diverse community of people and organizations from across the nation are committed to protecting and demanding a fair and accurate census so that no one is left behind."
"We're proud to see so many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders take the initiative to voice their opinion about the extreme harm the citizenship question is likely to have on getting an accurate census count of our communities," said John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. "With so many in our community who are either children of immigrants or immigrants themselves, this might be the first time they are participating in a census. We need to be sure that a potentially toxic, untested and unnecessary question does not deter our community from being counted accurately."
"Americans across the country have made clear their unequivocal opposition to the politicization of Census 2020 through the addition of a citizenship question," said Arturo Vargas, chief executive officer of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund. "If implemented, this harmful and costly decision would have far reaching implications for Latinos and all Americans, depressing response rates and threatening the fair and equitable distribution of political representation and billions of dollars in federal funding. As policymakers at all levels -- federal, state and local -- our nation's Latino officials rely on a full and dynamic picture of who is residing in their communities in order to focus critical resources and act in the best interests of their constituents. We will continue to fight against the addition of this question in both Congress and the courts to ensure that Latino policymakers are able to do their jobs effectively and that the U.S. Census Bureau's mission of counting every single person living in this country each decade, regardless of age, citizenship, ethnicity or race, is not compromised."
"The addition of a citizenship question to the census is yet another attack on immigrants from this administration," said Jennifer Bellamy, legislative counsel at the ACLU. "Experts agree that the question's inclusion will dramatically reduce the participation of immigrant communities, stunting their growing political influence and depriving them of economic benefits. The impact of lower response rates for communities and states with large immigrant populations will be catastrophic and far-reaching, affecting education, transportation, health care, and voting power. We must stop this question from being included, and ensure that the true purpose of the census--to count all people living in the United States--is protected."
"The census is an essential tool for understanding and shaping our country's economic and social realities," said Thea Lee, president of EPI. "Adding an untested, disruptive, and controversial question, which will certainly deter key groups from participating in the decennial count, is policy malpractice. The administration should listen to the tens of thousands of policymakers, economists, sociologists, and members of the public who have weighed in, and withdraw its flawed proposal immediately."
"The addition of a citizenship question targets Black communities and other communities of color," said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change. "Trump and his cronies Jeff Sessions and Wilbur Ross at the Commerce Department are changing the rules with the simple goal: to make Black people, people of color and our communities invisible. If they can say we don't exist through the Census, then they can chip away at our right to vote, at fair inclusion of our communities in critical resources and make the American Dream that much harder to realize. This is a long held project of the same forces that defend white nationalists who march in American cities and chip away at school integration and voter protection -- more than ever we must stand up, push back and hold those who enable this behavior accountable."
"Donald Trump is trying to use the census to rig elections for Republicans until 2030," said Heidi Hess, co-director ofCREDO Action. "If a discriminatory citizenship question is included in the 2020 census it could result in a major undercounting of immigrant communities. It's a desperate attempt to supercharge right-wing gerrymandering and voter suppression - and the public sees right through it."
"A fair and accurate Census is crucial to equitable distribution of our nation's resources and political power for the next decade, and the last-minute, haphazard addition of a question designed to diminish participation from communities already at high risk of being undercounted must not be permitted," said Carolyn Fiddler, communications director at Daily Kos. "The government has a constitutional duty to correctly count every person living in the United States, regardless of citizenship status, and questioning respondents' citizenship will depress participation and skew counts in already-underserved populations. We call on the Department of Commerce to keep this untested, unnecessary question off of the 2020 Census."
"Thousands of MomsRising members submitted comments to the Secretary of Commerce because we recognize that a discriminatory question that drives down participation in the Census and forces an undercount of immigrants would cause grave harm," said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families. "This is another disgraceful attack on immigrants - another example of the Trump administration using racism and xenophobia to divide us. The moms of America want discriminatory questions removed from the Census so we can get an accurate count, which in turn will support fair distribution of health, housing, education and other resources to our communities.
"It's critical that the census provide an accurate picture of every community in our country," said Marge Baker, executive vice president of People For the American Way. "Adding an untested, politically motivated question about citizenship dangerously undermines that goal. Adding this question to the census won't help anyone learn more about the makeup of our country, but it will make more people nervous about participating in the census. That may be good news for political activists who want to dilute the power of communities of color, but it's very bad news for our country as a whole and for anyone who cares about our democracy."
"Adding a citizenship question to our census threatens to erase immigrants from our country's records," said Bridgette Gomez, director of Latino leadership and engagement at Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "If you aren't accounted for, you do not exist as far as resource distribution is concerned. We know immigrants already have a very difficult time accessing health care, as lack of health insurance and fear of detention and deportation have driven communities farther and farther into the shadows under the Trump administration. At Planned Parenthood, we believe that no one's access to services should be compromised because they belong to an immigrant family or community. We strongly condemn the Trump-Pence administration's addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census. And we are committed to fighting alongside a bipartisan group of former census directors, our communities, and partners to speak against this injustice."
"Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross directed the Census Bureau to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census form for one reason only: To intimidate and frighten recent immigrants - including both citizens and noncitizens - so they don't fill out their census form. In overwhelming numbers, Americans are denouncing his not-so-disguised anti-immigrant cruelty and demanding the question be removed, so the Census can meet its constitutional obligation to deliver a true and accurate count," said Robert Weissman, president, Public Citizen.
"The American people will not tolerate the Trump Administration exploiting the census in order to carry out their racist and xenophobic policies," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. "Donald Trump cannot decide which communities receive support, and which don't have access to clean air and water. It's reprehensible that Donald Trump would try to blatantly undermine the Constitution. But together, with our allies and the hundreds of thousands of Americans across the country that have already spoken, we will protect the integrity of the census, protect our democracy, and protect our communities and the environment."
To view this release online, click here.
Common Cause is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.
(202) 833-1200LATEST NEWS
On Kent State Massacre Anniversary, Progressives Decry Repression of Student Protests
"The militarized repression of young people speaking out against a terrible war was shameful then and it's shameful now," said one state lawmaker.
May 04, 2024
As U.S. Republicans push for the deployment of National Guard troops to quell nationwide student demonstrations against the Gaza genocide, progressive lawmakers marked the anniversary of the 1970 Kent State Massacre by condemning police repression of peaceful protesters and reaffirming the power of dissent.
"On the 54th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre, students across our country are being brutalized for standing up to endless war," Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said on social media. "Our country must learn to actually uphold the rights of free speech and assembly upon which it was founded."
Fellow "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said that "54 years ago, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on unarmed students at Kent State."
"Students have a right to speak out, organize, and protest systemic wrongs," she added. "We can't silence those expressing dissent, no matter how uncomfortable their protests may be to those in power."
On May 4, 1970, 28 Ohio National Guard troops fired 67 live rounds into a crowd of unarmed Kent State students rallying against the expansion of the U.S.-led war in Vietnam into Cambodia. They murdered students Allison Krause, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, Sandra Lee Scheuer, and William Knox Schroeder—all aged 19 or 20. Nine other students were wounded, including one who was permanently paralyzed.
"The militarized repression of young people speaking out against a terrible war was shameful then and it's shameful now," New York state Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher (D-50) said on Saturday.
Protests against Israel's assault on Gaza—which according to Palestinian and international officials has killed, maimed, or left missing more than 123,000 Gazans—have spread to dozens of campuses across the U.S. and around the world. Police have been called in to break up protest encampments at numerous schools. Hundreds of students, faculty, and journalists have been arrested, sometimes violently.
At the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), police stood by this week as a pro-Israel mob attacked a campus protest encampment before officers arrested peaceful protesters and supporters.
As law enforcement officials have tried to justify the crackdown by claiming "outside agitators" are behind the protests, some observers noted historical parallels.
"Watching what is happening at UCLA," Virginia state Sen. Mamie Locke (D-2) said on social media. "Old enough to remember Kent State, Jackson State, South Carolina State, and the dog whistles of 'law and order,' 'outside agitators.' So reminiscent of 1968."
On February 8, 1968, police shot 31 students—most of them in the back—at a protest against Jim Crow segregation at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, murdering three young Black men: Samuel Hammond Jr., Delano Middleton, and Henry Smith.
Eleven days after Kent State, police opened fire on a crowd of Black students protesting the bombing of Cambodia at Jackson State College in Jackson, Mississippi, killing Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green and injuring 12 others.
"Our institutions must learn from these past mistakes to not use militarized responses against unarmed, peaceful student protesters by calling in the National Guard, bringing in state troopers, or deploying police in riot gear," Laurel Krause, the sister of slain Kent State protester Allison Krause, said in a statement marking the ignominious anniversary.
"We must not repeat the horrors of Kent State 54 years later," she added.
Keep ReadingShow Less
UN Food Chief Says Northern Gaza Suffering 'Full-Blown Famine'
"And it's moving its way south," she warned.
May 04, 2024
United Nations World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said Friday that Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip are experiencing "full-blown famine" after nearly seven months of Israeli bombardment and invasion—and that deadly malnutrition is "moving its way south" through the embattled enclave.
While U.N. agencies have warned since March that famine was imminent in Gaza, McCain's remarks—which came during an interview with Kristen Welker that is scheduled to air on Sunday's edition of NBC News' "Meet the Press"—make her the most high-profile international official to date to publicly acknowledge a state of famine in parts of the Palestinian territory.
"It's horror," said McCain, who is American. "There is famine—full-blown famine—in the north, and it's moving its way south."
UN World Food Program @WFPChief: “There is famine — full-blown famine — in the north of Gaza, and it’s moving its way south.”
pic.twitter.com/eyk0OeOEzr
— Waleed Shahid 🪬 (@_waleedshahid) May 4, 2024
McCain's remarks come as hundreds of thousands of Gazans are on the brink of starvation. Dozens of Palestinians—the vast majority of them children and infants—have already died of malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza.
According to Palestinian and international officials, Israel's 211-day assault on Gaza—which many experts including Israelis call genocidal—has killed or maimed more than 123,000 Palestinians since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, including an estimated 11,000 people who are believed to be dead and buried beneath the ruins of the hundreds of thousands of destroyed or damaged homes and other buildings.
In addition to not allowing adequate humanitarian aid into Gaza, Israeli forces have also repeatedly attacked both aid workers and desperate civilians trying to access the lifesaving provisions.
"What we are asking for and what we continually ask for is a cease-fire and the ability to have unfettered access, to get in safe through the various ports and gate crossings," McCain said during the interview.
On Saturday, Hamas spokesperson Osman Hamdan said there have been "some forward steps" toward a cease-fire agreement during negotiations in Egypt. Egyptian mediators proposed a six-week cessation of hostilities, the release of an unspecified number of Israeli and international hostages, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
However, one Israeli official toldABC News on condition of anonymity Saturday that "Israel will under no circumstances agree to the end of the war as part of an agreement to release our abductees."
The negotiations come as Israeli forces prepare for an expected ground invasion of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than a million refugees forcibly displaced from other parts of the strip are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents. On Friday, the U.N.'s humanitarian agency
warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah would put hundreds of thousands of Palestinians "at imminent risk of death."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Racist POS' Mike Collins Cheers Video of Ole Miss Mob Attack on Black Student
"This is not about Israel, Palestine, or Gaza. This is old-fashioned American racism and misogyny," said one observer. "These are the types of young white men who will grow up to be Republican governors, senators, and members of Congress."
May 03, 2024
Republican Georgia Congressman Mike Collins came under fire Friday over a social media post applauding video of white University of Mississippi students racially abusing a Black woman participating in a campus protest for Palestine.
Collins posted the video—in which numerous people can be heard grunting like apes and one young man is seen jumping up and down like a monkey in front of the Black woman—with the caption, "Ole Miss taking care of business."
Collins—or whoever's in charge of his social media accounts—sparred with Black leaders who called out his racism. When former Democratic Ohio state senator Nina Turner said the video showed "anti-Blackness," the congressman shot back, "*Anti-terroristness."
When Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) accused Collins of "fueling white supremacy," the Republican retorted, "Don't take down any more signs at our workplace, please" along with a photo of the Democrat triggering a fire alarm in a House of Representatives office building last year.
Around 30 protesters were rallying in support of Palestine in the Ole Miss Quad when counter-protesters gathered near the demonstrators. Some booed and chanted, "We want Trump!" Others singled out the Black woman—who NBC Newssaid is a graduate student at the school—chanting "Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo," "take a shower," "your nose is huge," "fuck you, fat bitch," and "lock her up!"
The counter-protesters also sang the "Star-Spangled Banner." Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves shared a separate video of the singing students on social media, captioning his post, "Warms my heart" and "I love Mississippi."
No racist language can be heard in the video shared by Reeves.
The Daily Mississippianreports the demonstrators were escorted off the Quad after counter-protesters threw water bottles at them.
Collins is no stranger to accusations of racism. Earlier this year, he suggested murdering migrants by throwing them from helicopters into the sea, in the manner of U.S.-backed South American dictators in the 1970s.
He also
introduced the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act, which would ban the federal government from removing or altering "any state-constructed barriers installed to mitigate illegal immigration," such as the razor buoys installed in the Rio Grande by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Collins was also
accused of antisemitism after he amplified a social media post by an avowed neo-Nazi targeting a Washington Post reporter for being Jewish.
Ole Miss said Friday that "statements were made at the demonstration on our campus Thursday that were offensive and inappropriate."
"We cannot comment specifically about that video, but the university is looking into reports about specific actions," the school added. "Any actions that violate university policy will be met with appropriate action."
The Ole Miss incident comes amid rapidly spreading campus protests across the U.S. and around the world in response to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, which has killed, maimed, or left missing around 5% of the embattled strip's 2.3 million people, most of them civilians, while forcibly displacing nearly 9 in 10 people and driving hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.
While numerous Ole Miss students said they did not understand what the pro-Palestine protesters hoped to accomplish, others voiced support for the demonstrators—and for Palestine.
"As we've seen throughout history, time and time again, the student movement is never wrong. Time and time again, anytime there's a student protest, and you're against it, you're on the wrong side of history," Xavier Black, a junior majoring in international studies, told
The Daily Mississippian. "So I would like to be on the right side."
One Palestinian American Ole Miss student was teary-eyed as she thanked the protesters.
"Hey guys, I know that what just happened was really intimidating, and it was a little scary, but I just want to say I'm so proud of you guys," the student—who gave only her first name, Jana—said,
according toMississippi Today. "This wasn't going to happen... without all of you guys. Palestine was being heard. And I just want to thank you guys so much."
"I know that was such a big risk, but this is the most that people have ever thought for us, so don't give up," she added. "I know that was really hard, but we need to keep fighting. This was just the start of it, okay?"
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular