Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Association for a Better New York today warned that the decision by the Trump administration to add a citizenship question, asking every family in America about their immigration status, to the 2020 Census will have a serious, negative impact on New York City. The question is likely to depress response rates among immigrant communities and result in an inaccurate count that will hurt New York State’s representation and federal funding, and, fundamentally, our American democracy.
"New York City is joining Attorney General Schneiderman’s lawsuit to stop President Trump from this unprecedented move to politicize the census. A fair and accurate 2020 count is constitutionally mandated to ensure political power and resources remain with the people – where they belong. President Trump’s decision puts our amazing city of immigrants in jeopardy and threatens federal funding for infrastructure, health care and public safety in New York,” said Mayor de Blasio.
“The citizenship question undermines an accurate census for all America. It stokes fear, increases the likelihood of a false count, and unfairly harms cities and states like New York where immigrants are a deep and important part of the fabric,” said Steven Rubenstein, Chairman of the Association for a Better New York. “We urge Secretary Ross to reconsider this damaging decision that will further discourage these already hard to count populations from participating.”
With a population of 8.6 million people, New York City is the most populous and ethnically diverse city in the United States. Two hundred languages are spoken in the five boroughs and more than 3 million of the city’s residents were born in other countries. New York has the largest Latino, Caribbean, Asian, and African populations of any American City. Our diversity is a hallmark of our strength.
The addition of a citizenship question to the short-form Census for the first time since 1950 could reduce participation in the Census from all immigrants, regardless of their immigration status.
Before the administration decided to add this politically-charged question in to the decennial count, the challenges faced by the 2020 Census were already enormous. That is due to highly charged anti-immigrant rhetoric coming out of Trump administration and internet security breaches which have dominated the headlines.
The decennial census count determines representation in the U.S. House of Representatives, is used to draw political district at federal, state, and local levels, and affects the flow of billions of dollars in federal funds to the State and City. An inaccurate count is also bad for business, as many companies use census data to locate stores and allocate resources.
The flow of dollars to New York State and, by extension New York City, from the federal government is also affected by the census count. An undercount shortchanges the city, hurting its ability to provide affordable housing, maintain infrastructure, and provide for the needs of residents in the areas of education and health, especially related to the well-being of children. These are services that residents of all creeds, nationalities, and economic class use on a daily basis.
The decision to include a question about a family’s immigration status is a bipartisan issue. It will hurt all immigrant-heavy states, including Florida, California, Texas and Arizona. Earlier this year, the United States Conference of Mayors, with more than 160 mayors across the political spectrum issued a letter calling on Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to reject a push to include a citizenship question in the 2020 Census. Civil rights advocates have also raised alarms over the question.
The Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the United States Code, which means personal information provided for the Census cannot be published, shared or even given to any other government agency. Despite that, the City and ABNY remain highly concerned that the citizenship question will depress participation in the 2020 Census and so do immense harm the City, the State and Country.
The removal of this question is necessary to protect an accurate count and a correct reapportionment of federal representation and dollars to New York and other affected states throughout the nation. The City will continue its advocacy against deleterious changes, including a citizenship question, to the 2020 Census.
“The Trump Administration’s claim that adding a citizenship question to the census will protect voting rights is preposterous and hardly conceals their true intent. This is plain and simple another attack on immigrant communities,” said Bitta Mostofi, Acting Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs. “As federal administrations have acknowledged for the better part of a century, an accurate count of every person ensures an equitable distribution of resources for critical services, like housing and health care. We will continue to fight changes like these that aim to distort our democracy and enflame fears among immigrant New Yorkers.”
