July, 26 2018, 12:00am EDT
Immigrants Notch Victory in Court Against Trump
Judge Furman allows Census lawsuit to move forward
New York, NY
Today, Federal Judge Jesse Furman ruled against the Trump administration's request to dismiss New York v. Department of Commerce, and will allow the lawsuit to move forward. The lawsuit argues that adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census violates the Constitution, which requires an actual count of every person, violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is beyond the Department's statutory authority and is arbitrary and capricious, and reverses seven decades of precedent without a factual basis.
Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition, issued the following statement:
"New York's 4.4 million immigrants will be counted regardless of Trump's attempts to keep us down. Today was a big victory for all New Yorkers and we're not going to lose a dime or our voices to D.C."
Background
On April 3rd, the New York Attorney General's office filed a lawsuit- New York v. Deparment of Commerce- in the Southern District of New York to stop the Commerce Department from adding the citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Currently 18 states, the District of Columbia, several cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors have joined the New York Attorney General's lawsuit. On May 25, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Judge Furman on July 3rd stated it was "unlikely he would dismiss the case in its entirety" and granted the AG's office request for additional documents beyond letters already released.
The New York Immigration Coalition, together with over eighty partners, has formed New York Counts 2020, a coalition to counter the expected impact of the citizenship question on the 2020 census. The addition of a citizenship question will stoke unnecessary fear in immigrant communities and could result in a significant undercount, particularly already under-counted racial and ethnic minority groups. With immigrants constituting nearly 1 out of 4 New Yorkers, an undercount in the 2020 Census will have catastrophic consequences - costing all New Yorkers political power and billions of dollars in federal funding for key services.
New York Counts 2020 includes:
Academy of Medical and Public Health Services
ACCESS WNY
ADL and 67th Precinct Clergy Council
African Services Committee
American Immigration Lawyers Association - New York Chapter
Arab American Association of New York
Asian American Federation
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Association for Better New York
Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD)
Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services (BACDYS)
Bronx Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc
Brooklyn Public Library
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New York
Catholic Migration Services
Center for Law and Social Justice, Medgar Evers College
Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
CHHAYA CDC
Chinese-American Planning Council
Chinese Progressive Association
Christopher Rose Community Empowerment Campaign
Cidadao Global
Citizens' Committee for Children of New York
Citizens Union Foundation
Common Cause NY
Community Legal Advocates of N
Community Voices Heard
Cooper Square Committee N-NORC
Church Women United in New York State
Desis Rising Up and Moving
Digital Equity Laboratory, The New School
EducatedVoter.net
Emerald Island Immigration Center
Engage New York
Fiscal Policy Institute
Forestdale
FPWA
Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.
Health and Welfare Council of Long Island
Human Services Council
Indivisible Nation BK
Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc.
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing
Japanese American Social Services, Inc.
Jewish Community Relations Council
Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York
LatinoJustice PRLDEF
Literacy Assistance Center
LiUNA Local 78
Masa
MinKwon Center for Community Action
Mixteca Organization, Inc.
Movement for Justice in El Barrio
NAACP-New York Branch
NALEO Educational Fund
New America
New York Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
New York City Employment and Training Coalition
New York Housing Conference
New York Immigration Coalition
New York Legal Assistance Group
New York State Council on Children and Families
NMIC
Nobody Leaves Mid-Hudson
OCA-NY
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
Planned Parenthood of New York City
Pratt Center for Community Development
Russian Speaking Community Council of Manhattan and the Bronx, Inc.
SEIU32BJ
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester
Sunnyside Community Services
Tiny Panther Consulting
Treatment Action Group
Queens College, CUNY/Social Explorer
Queens Library
UJA-Federation of New York
United Neighborhood Houses
Vision Urbana, Inc.
Volunteer Lawyers Project of Onondaga County
Wayne Action for Racial Justice
Worker's Center of Central New York
YMCA of Greater New York
Young Invincibles
The New York Immigration Coalition aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. The NYIC promotes immigrants' full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York's diverse immigrant communities.
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