Los Angeles — The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), reacted in dismay at news the U.S. Department of Commerce will be re-instating a citizenship status question in Census 2020.
The following are statements for Angelica Salas, CHIRLA Executive Director:
“It appears the Trump Administration will make every effort, at every turn, to sow fear, distrust, and division in the Land. The inclusion of a citizenship question in Census 2020 is intentionally designed to make immigrant communities invisible.
The Census is a parameter of our nation’s population, not a proxy for discrimination, bigotry, and xenophobia.
There is absolutely no reason why this question would be useful to the U.S. other than to discourage large numbers of community members from participating in the process and therefore diminishing their electoral power and funding allocations. The constitution is clear: immigrants count in America.
CHIRLA will join hundreds of other organizations to fight back this antagonistic inclusion in Census 2020. Congress should immediately move to block the inclusion of a citizenship question in the Census.”
