Send protest letter to Trump administration
NEW YORK, NY - Today, the New York Immigration Coalition – with over one hundred immigrant, labor, religious, health, education, housing, and civic groups throughout New York State signed-on – sent a letter to the Department of Commerce and the Office of Management and Budget protesting the potential inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 census questionnaire. The Census Bureau will submit a draft questionnaire to Congress on April 1, 2018.
"A citizenship question on the census will scare off thousands of New Yorkers and result in an undercount that will deprive the city of critical resources to meet basic survival needs like hospitals, housing, health services and education. The framers of the Constitution, immigrants themselves, designed the census to be a non-partisan count of all of America’s residents - not another political football for the Trump administration,” said Steve Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.
Background
A non-partisan, reliable, and responsive 2020 Census is necessary to ensure the proper distribution of over $600 billion in federal funding to communities across the United States for schools, hospitals, housing, and transportation. The addition of a citizenship question to the decennial Census, as requested by the Department of Justice in December 2017, would stoke unnecessary fear in immigrant communities and result in a significant undercount, particularly by already under-counted racial and ethnic minority groups. With immigrant communities constituting nearly 1 out of every 4 New Yorkers, an undercount in the 2020 Census will have catastrophic consequences – costing all New Yorkers political power and billions of dollars in federal funding for key services.
The DOJ’s request to include a question on citizenship would bypass the extensive vetting process to ensure a high and accurate response rate. It would further fuel distrust and concerns of the Census Bureau's obligation to keep the data confidential amid heightened anti-immigrant furor in the current, politically charged climate. This is especially true given the Bureau’s checkered history in sharing confidential information with immigration enforcement, including sharing data to aid the government in the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II and the post 9-11 targeting of Arabs, Muslims, and South Asians.
The letter was signed by:
New York Statewide:
32BJ SEIU
American Jewish Committee
Asian American Federation
CAIR-NY
Common Cause/New York
Greater New York Labor Religion Coalition
Japanese American Citizens League-New York
The Japanese American Association of New York Inc.
LatinoJustice, PRLDEF
NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc. New York Civil Liberties Union
New York Immigration Coalition
Omicron Chapter of Phi Iota Alpha
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union
New York City:
AJC NY
African Communities Together
Arab American Family Support Center
Asian Americans for Equality
Bangladeshi American Community Development and Youth Services
Brooklyn Defender Services
CAAAV-Organizing Asian Communities
Cabrini Immigrant Services of NYC
CHHAYA, CDC
Chinese American Planning Counsel
Chinese Progressive Association
Coalition of Asian-American IPA
Columbia Law School Latino/a Law Students Association
Nightline Peer Listening at Columbia College
Community Voices Heard
Damayan Migrant Workers Association
DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving DSI International, Inc.
El Centro del Inmigrante
Emerald Isle Immigration Center
GlobeMed
Henry Street Settlement
Hunter Dream Team
Indo-Caribbean Alliance
Japanese American Social Services, Inc.
Korean American Youth Foundation
Masa-MexEd, Inc.
DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy, Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Mexican Coalition for the Empowerment of Youth and Families
Mexican Student Association (MexSA)
MinKwon Center for Community Action
American Constitution Society at New York University School of Law
A/P/A Institute at New York University
New York University Asian Pacific American Coalition
Bengali Students Association, New York University
The Interfaith Students of Color Coalition, New York University
Generation Citizen @ New York University
Immigrant Justice Center, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, John Jay Legal Services Independent Drivers Guild
Latino Commission on AIDS
Latino Unidos Con Honor y Amistad @ New York University
Phi Chapter of Hermandad de Sigma Iota Alpha, Inc.
ProColumbia-New York University Chapter
Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
National Action Network
OCA-NY
OCA-APA Advocates-Long Island Chapter
Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow
People’s Theatre Project
Pilipino American Unity for Progress (UNIPRO) Asian/American Center at Queens College (CUNY)
Queer Detainee Empowerment Project
Russian-speaking Community Council of Manhattan and the Bronx, Inc.
Safe Horizon Immigration Law Project
Sakhi for South Asian Women
SAPNA NYC
Shetu Inc.
South Asian Community Services (SACSS)
Sunnyside Community Services
The Door-A Center of Alternatives
The Ghanaian Association of Staten Island, NY Inc. United Neighborhood Houses
UNITEHERE Local 100
University Settlement
Viva Peru
Volunteers of Legal Service
Womankind
Long Island:
Dejus Center, Inc.
Long Island Wins
OCA-APA Advocates-Long Island Chapter
Central New York:
American Constitution Society-Cornell Law School Chapter
Tompkins County Immigrant Rights Coalition
Volunteers Lawyers Project of Onondaga County
Workers Center of Central New York
Northern New York State:
Plattsburgh Cares
Upper and Lower Hudson Valley/Westchester:
Community Resource Center
Community Voices Heard
OCA-Westchester and Hudson Valley Chapter
Worker Justice Center of New York, Inc.
Western New York State:
ACCESS of WNY
Catholic Family Center
First Presbyterian Church of Buffalo
Greater Rochester Coalition for Immigration Justice
International Institute of Buffalo
Justice for Migrant Families
Kids for College
Legal Aid Society of Rochester
PUSH Buffalo
Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester Office
University at Buffalo, SUNY
Wayne Action for Racial Equality
Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health (WNYCOSH)
Worker Justice Center of New York, Inc.
Outside New York State:
OCA-New Jersey Chapter
OCA-San Mateo Chapter
Wind of the Spirit, Immigrant Resource Center
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