The U.S. Census Bureau is preparing for its 2020 decennial "Enumeration" of the population, as the Constitution mandates.
At the same time, two lawsuits-including one filed in New York by 17 Democratic attorneys general, the District of Columbia, six cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors-are challenging the method of the count, seeking to prevent the Census from asking respondents whether they are U.S. citizens.
Opponents of the citizenship question contend, perhaps correctly, that it will reduce Census participation by illegal immigrants, and even some legal immigrants.
As things stand now, without a citizenship question, the Census favors Democrats.
An Axios analysis based on data from the Cook Political Report and the Census Bureau finds that ten Democratic districts include a foreign-born population of higher than 40 percent, compared with just two Republican seats.
That's why the stakes are high for those pushing the lawsuit to halt the Census from asking about citizenship-and why the law firm of former attorney general Eric Holder is involved in the litigation.
If sufficient numbers of immigrants shy away from responding to the Census because they don't want to record their citizenship status on a legal document, then the total number of residents in each district will be lower, and the next congressional apportionment will reflect that lower tally.
There seems little doubt that the Census Bureau has the discretion to inquire about citizenship.
It has done so as recently as the 1950 census, and the American Community Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau every three years, includes questions about citizenship status, too.
https://www.city-journal.org/html/looming-census-fight-16007.html
At the same time, two lawsuits-including one filed in New York by 17 Democratic attorneys general, the District of Columbia, six cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors-are challenging the method of the count, seeking to prevent the Census from asking respondents whether they are U.S. citizens.
Opponents of the citizenship question contend, perhaps correctly, that it will reduce Census participation by illegal immigrants, and even some legal immigrants.
As things stand now, without a citizenship question, the Census favors Democrats.
An Axios analysis based on data from the Cook Political Report and the Census Bureau finds that ten Democratic districts include a foreign-born population of higher than 40 percent, compared with just two Republican seats.
That's why the stakes are high for those pushing the lawsuit to halt the Census from asking about citizenship-and why the law firm of former attorney general Eric Holder is involved in the litigation.
If sufficient numbers of immigrants shy away from responding to the Census because they don't want to record their citizenship status on a legal document, then the total number of residents in each district will be lower, and the next congressional apportionment will reflect that lower tally.
There seems little doubt that the Census Bureau has the discretion to inquire about citizenship.
It has done so as recently as the 1950 census, and the American Community Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau every three years, includes questions about citizenship status, too.
https://www.city-journal.org/html/looming-census-fight-16007.html
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