(LOS ANGELES, CA – 7/2/2019) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today joined its national office and civil rights allies across the nation in today welcomed the Trump administration’s decision to print 2020 census forms without a citizenship question.
Last week, CAIR welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to block the question about citizenship status from being included in the census.
SEE: Trump Administration Won’t Ask About Citizenship on Census
https://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2019/07/02/trump-administration-wont-ask-about-citizenship-on-census/
CAIR Welcomes SCOTUS Decision Blocking Citizenship Question on 2020 Census for Now
“The scrapping of this discriminatory question is due to the hard work of activists and community members nationwide who fought this attempt to politicize the census,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Last year, the United States Department of Commerce, which oversees the census, said that the question would be added at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent violations of the Voting Rights Act. President Trump falsely claimed that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election. The citizenship question was last included in the census questionnaire in 1950.
Census data determines representation in Congress and how the federal government allocates more than $400 billion in public funds to state, local and tribal governments. Faith-based organizations and institutions can use census data to apply for grants.
In April, CAIR-LA released the results of a community outreach study that aimed to ascertain American Muslim perspectives regarding the 2020 Census. The study, funded by the California Community Foundation and the Weingart Foundation, showed 24% of respondents would have been less likely to participate in the census if a citizenship question were added.
READ: An Exploration of Perceptions, Barriers, and Outreach Strategies for the 2020 U.S. Census within Southern CA Muslim American Communities
“It is imperative that the American Muslim community participate in Census 2020 because if we do not get counted as a population then programs like Head Start, SNAP, Section 8 Housing and other programs that directly serve the American Muslim community will lose funding,” said CAIR-LA Policy & Advocacy Manager Fayaz Nawabi.
Researchers estimate that the citizenship question would reduce responses by 8 percent.
SEE: U.S. Census Bureau Working Paper: “Predicting the Effect of Adding a Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census” (June 2019)
https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6165808-U-S-Census-Bureau-Working-Paper-Understanding
A federal court in Maryland recently heard evidence indicating that the Trump administration conspired with an anti-immigrant extremist to include the citizenship question for the purpose of discriminating against Latinos and other immigrant communities.
SEE: Federal judge says census citizenship question merits more consideration in light of new evidence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/06/19/maryland-judge-rules-new-evidence-census-citizenship-question-lawsuit/
CAIR noted that federal law requires answers to the census be kept confidential and protected.
The Washington-based civil rights organization is reminding individuals that non-citizen does not mean undocumented and is reminding the American-Muslim community to be counted.
Earlier this year, CAIR and its New York chapter (CAIR-NY) joined the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and three American citizens of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II in filing an amicus brief supporting challengers of the 2020 census citizenship question.
SEE: CAIR, CAIR-NY Join Japanese Americans Incarcerated in World War II and the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality in SCOTUS Brief Challenging Census Citizenship Question
https://www.cair.com/cair_cair_ny_join_japanese_americans_incarcerated_in_world_war_ii_and_the_fred_t_korematsu_center_for_law_and_equality_in_scotus_brief_challenging_census_citizenship_question
When the citizenship question was first proposed, CAIR issued a statement decrying it as a part of President Trump’s “White Supremacist Agenda.”
SEE: CAIR Says Citizenship Question on Census Part of Trump’s ‘White Supremacist Agenda’
https://www.cair.com/cair_says_citizenship_question_on_census_part_of_trump_s_white_supremacist_agenda
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Eugene W. Fields, 714-776-1847 or efields@cair.com