Trump Justice Department Pushes for Citizenship Question on Census, Alarming Experts

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Huffington Post

12/29/2017 09:50 pm ET
“This is a recipe for sabotaging the census.”
Justin Elliott ProPublica

The Justice Department is pushing for a question on citizenship to be added to the 2020 census, a move that observers say could depress participation by immigrants who fear that the government could use the information against them. That, in turn, could have potentially large ripple effects for everything the once-a-decade census determines — from how congressional seats are distributed around the country to where hundreds of billions of federal dollars are spent.

The DOJ made the request in a previously unreported letter, dated Dec. 12 and obtained by ProPublica, from DOJ official Arthur Gary to the top official at the Census Bureau, which is part of the Commerce Department. The letter argues that the DOJ needs better citizenship data to better enforce the Voting Rights Act “and its important protections against racial discrimination in voting.”

A Census Bureau spokesperson confirmed the agency received the letter and said the “request will go through the well-established process that any potential question would go through.” The DOJ declined to comment and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Observers said they feared adding a citizenship question would not only lower response rates, but also make the census more expensive and throw a wrench into the system with just two years to go before the 2020 count. Questions are usually carefully field-tested, a process that can take years.



Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/trump-justice-department-pushes-for-citizenship-question-on-census-alarming-experts_us_5a46fc79e4b0b0e5a7a68d3d?section=us_politics

[FarPoint]

1. Well....I must be truthful...

I am from Mars.......


MARS PA....😇

[Ohiogal]

2. LOL

[burrowowl]

5. I am from Venus

[Wuddles440]

11. That's impressive...

because Democrats around Mars, Pennsylvania are a rare breed and have almost mystical status like unicorns.

[FarPoint]

13. Now it is repug click voters ....but when I grew up there Union jobs ruled...

Democrats were the foundation of Mars ....Many of us who grew up there when it was a close knit community remain friends and strong Democrats....

[Wuddles440]

14. Agree.

It's gone through some dramatic changes over the past several decades and sadly has now become the land of the Daryl Metcalfe freaks. We moved from there 20 years ago, but my sister still lives there. Until your post, I thought she was the only Democrat still in the area. Stay strong!

[FarPoint]

15. I'm in Ohio now but have lifetime friends there....

I lived there when everyone knew their neighbors.... probably knew too much but in a good way....

[PoliticAverse]

3. But questions about race aren't "alarming" when those were once actually used

to round up americans to put in concentration camps?

Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/confirmed-the-us-census-b/

[dalton99a]

4. +1

[RainCaster]

6. If they ask me, I'm an illegal too

If we all say that it will negate their stupidity.

[BumRushDaShow]

7. They may be targeting California with this but

they would torpedo their "red" states of FL, TX, & AZ too, so it will be interesting to see if this goes anywhere.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. My credit card company and bank also asked the same question recently

the Feds are pushing them. Are financial institutions being used as de facto agents of the Federal government, or ICE?

[Yupster]

12. It's a standard question if you open an investment account

with a brokerage firm. Has been for at least 30 years.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. Oh Jesus no.

[duforsure]

10. He wants it to be that exactly

His Justice Department answering to him, and only him. That's why he's moving quickly to rig the next elections with the help from putin again. The gop are helping him stack the courts for this.