The question should be on the census. Trump administration to add citizenship question to 2020 census By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times - Updated: 9:44 p.m. on Monday, March 26, 2018 The Trump administration announced late Monday that it will ask a question about citizenship on the 2020 census, moving to restore a critical but controversial piece of data from the decennial count. Immigrant-rights groups had vehemently opposed the move, arguing it would rub some people the wrong way and scare them from participating, and would thus skew the count that is critical to doling out hundreds of billions of dollars in government aid and to fundamental democratic functions such as divvying up congressional seats. Several minority-rights activists called it data “sabotage.” But the Justice Department has asked for the question to be restored, saying they needed it to better enforce critical laws such as the Voting Rights Act. Other government surveys ask about citizenship, but the Justice Department said those don’t get at the same level of granularity that the decennial census does. Commerce Department Secretary Wilbur Ross made the final decision to add the question. He said it was part of the full census up through 1950, and even as late as 2000 was part of the Census “long form” that was sent to one in six families. In 2020, though, it will be part of the form that goes out to all families. “I find that the need for accurate citizenship data and the limited burden that the reinstatement of the citizenship question would impose outweighs fears about a potentially lower response rate,” he wrote in a memo laying out his decision. He dismissed concerns from some immigrant-rights groups who say the government would face a backlash from people who distrust it. He said that fear may come to pass, but it’s not tied to the citizenship question itself. In fact, he said, nobody could specifically tie the citizenship question to lower responses. He also said some opponents didn’t realize the question used to be standard on the Census. Civil liberties and immigrant-rights activists last week had pleaded with the Trump administration not to pursue this path. “The administration is trying to sabotage the 2020 Census with the addition of a citizenship question that it knows will chill participation among groups that it seeks to marginalize,” said Terry Ao Minnis, director of census and voting programs for Asian Americans Advancing Justice. The Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for stricter immigration limits, said people’s unwillingness to cooperate with the Census predates President Trump and so there’s no way to draw a correlation between bad reception to the citizenship question and any future drop in answers. Citizenship is already asked on the Census’s American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation. “Looking at the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Surveys shows no drop in the number of people identified as foreign-born between January 2014 and January of 2018,” said Steven Camarota, research director at the Center for Immigration Studies. “The months in which Trump announced his presidency, won the nomination or was elected president do not coincide with a falloff in the number immigrants who took part in the survey.” Mr. Trump had proposed limiting spending on the Census Bureau, which normally would be ramping up now in preparation for 2020. Congress, though, rejected Mr. Trump’s budget plans and delivered a major infusion of cash to the agency in the new “omnibus” spending bill, which census backers said puts the agency on a more solid footing. Resistance to answering census questions has grown in recent years as some Americans have deemed the survey too intrusive, and have said the Constitution’s only requirement is for a count, not an answer to myriad further personal detail inquiries that appear on the decennial census. Refusal rates for the American Community Survey rose from 1 percent to 2 over the decade from 2006 to 2016. Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/26/trump-administration-add-citizenship-question-2020/
Some people hold up liquor stores, too. Both are criminal acts. American policy should not care whether immigrants feel burdened or disenfranchised. If they're not citizens, they shouldn't count nor be accommodated.
The California AG misspoke. He meant to say 'undocumented'. California AG: 'It Is Illegal' To Ask People If They're Citizens On A Census; Files Lawsuit Against Trump Admin https://www.dailywire.com/news/28708/california-ag-it-illegal-ask-people-if-theyre-ryan-saavedra
"The decennial census generally included a citizenship inquiry for more than 100 years through 1950". Up until 2000 the citizenship question was included on long form surveys which were sent to every one out of six households. The Census bureau is simply adding back a question that has been on the decennial survey for over a hundred years. It is not illegal to ask people if they are citizens on a Census -- this has been done for decades and the information requests in Census surveys have always been held up in court cases as appropriate. Once again -- this is merely reinstating a question that has always been on the Census survey until 2010. 'Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross “has determined that reinstatement of a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial census questionnaire is necessary to provide complete and accurate census block level data,” the statement said.' Anyone making a fuss about it is only driven by a political agenda and has their facts wrong.
Question 4 Are you in the US legally? a.) yes b.) no Question 5 ( only answer if you answered no to question 4 ) Would you like to be contacted to schedule your deportation ? a.) yes b.) no
In 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 the Census Long Survey was sent to 1 in every 6 households for the Decennial Census. This long form included the Citizenship question. In the Decennial Census Surveys from 1860 to 1950 the Citizenship question was asked in each survey. Any questions.