White House Must Back Off Census Change
The inclusion of a question on citizenship puts the country on a path back to a less progressive time.
The Trump White House is on the defensive following Tuesday鈥檚 announcement by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that there will be in the 2020 U.S. Census.
The administration claims that including the citizenship question is necessary for the U.S. Department of Justice to protect the rights of voters.
But Democrats, civil rights groups and others are calling the census change what it is: a threat to immigrants with major implications for political involvement, participation, research, policy making, government funding and the collection of accurate data.
Attorneys general in a number of states immediately 鈥 and rightly 鈥 challenged the proposal, warning that the change would have far-reaching effects on immigrants and the political landscape.
“What the Trump Administration is requesting is not just alarming, it is an unconstitutional attempt to discourage an accurate Census count,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra .
鈥淭he census, written about and hallowed in the Constitution, is being distorted by this administration for political purposes,鈥 Senate Minority Leader聽Charles Schumer, Democrat of New York, .
Hawaii is not yet among the states involved in the legal challenge, but it should be. Like California, it is among the most diverse states in the nation.
(One imagines that if Doug Chin were still Hawaii鈥檚 AG, we would have been at the forefront of any legal challenge.)
In fact, the citizenship question has not been included in the census since 1950. The United States was a far whiter and far less ethnically diverse country 68 years ago than it is now.
It is no coincidence that the census question at the behest of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a longtime supporter of stricter voter identification laws. Kobach was President Trump鈥檚 choice to help on 鈥渆lection integrity鈥 that sought to prove millions of fraudulent votes were cast in the 2016 presidential elections.
There was no fraud, however, affirming that Trump lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes. The president quietly聽 two months ago.
When it comes to respecting multiculturalism 鈥斅燼nd all Americans, not just the white male Republicans that dominate his political base 鈥 the Trump administration wants to return to the 1950s.
In the past week alone, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has said diversity is not important, a ban on transgender military personal was implemented and the president unsuccessfully sought funding for a border wall by taking defense budget monies.
When it comes to the census, the White House can鈥檛 even get basic facts straight.
“This is a question that’s been included in every census since 1965, with the exception of 2010, when it was removed,”聽White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders .
Obama, of course, was president in 2010. Thanks to Trump, many think the Hawaii-born 44th president is a Muslim born in Kenya. No wonder white supremacists and neo-Nazis feel emboldened under the 45th president.
As The New York Times , the census is much more than just a head count.
鈥淚t is a snapshot of America that determines how congressional seats are apportioned, how state and federal dollars are distributed, where businesses choose to ship products and where they build new stores. To do all that properly, the count needs to be accurate.”
We agree.
One way to help ensure that the census remains fair and accurate is to support the聽2020 Census Improving Data and Enhanced Accuracy Act.
Among other things, the IDEA Act calls for prohibiting 鈥渓ast-minute changes or additions to the census without proper research, studying, and testing,鈥 according to the office of Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz.
鈥淲e need to make sure the 2020 census is on the level,鈥 Schatz, who co-introduced the legislation, . 鈥淭here is too much at stake for Congress to avoid its oversight responsibilities. With this bill, we can protect the 2020 census, and in doing so protect our Constitution.鈥
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