Washington, D.C.– Today, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chairs Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) issued a statement denouncing Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s announced inclusion of a question on citizenship status on the 2020 Census, which would predictably depress participation in the decennial survey and skew results:
“President Trump and his xenophobic cronies can’t help but leave any part of our government untouched by their anti-immigrant sentiment. The latest announcement of a citizenship question to the U.S. Census opens the door to federally sanctioned profiling, provides a gateway to a national identification card, and is nothing short of an attempt to intimidate immigrant communities from participating in the important task of accurately counting the country’s residents,” said Congressman Grijalva. “By discouraging immigrant families to participate in the Census, they will remain underrepresented and their communities will remain underfunded.”
“By announcing a new, untested and unnecessary question regarding citizenship status, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is launching a direct attack on the accuracy of the 2020 Census,” argued Congressman Pocan. “With this announced question, the Trump Administration is deliberately seeking to dissuade certain communities from participating in a data-collection process that ultimately directs federal spending based on need while determining electoral representation. This is why I urgently call on my colleagues to cosponsor Rep. Maloney’s Census IDEA Act, which would prevent the Commerce Secretary from imposing his political agenda on a nonpartisan process that is so vital to the functioning of our democracy.”
###
The Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus within the House Democratic Caucus, with over 70 members standing up for progressive ideals in Washington and throughout the country. Since 1991, the CPC has advocated for progressive policies that prioritize working Americans over corporate interests, fight economic and social inequality, and promote civil liberties. The CPC champions progressive policy solutions like comprehensive immigration reform, a $15 national minimum wage, fair trade, gun violence reform, debt-free college, and making the federal government a Model Employer.
Follow CPC
