The Supreme Court began hearing arguments Tuesday about whether or not to include a question asking about citizenship status on the 2020 U.S. census.
Three federal judges in New York, California and Maryland have already blocked the citizenship question, but reports from Tuesday's proceedings indicate the judges seem to be split, 5-4, in favor of adding the question.
Any decision regarding the census is critically important because the statistics gathered from the survey help decided the number of congressional representatives a state receives as well as how many electoral college votes. A prominent amount of federal funding is also decided based on the data collected from the census.
Many have argued, including members of the Census Bureau, that this question may prevent some families from filling out the census, causing large under counts that could affect federal funding and even congressional representation.
“Former census directors, Republican and Democrat, researchers and experts across the spectrum have all said to include a citizenship question in the United States census would result in a pretty dramatic undercut, particularly of Latina immigrants and Latina U.S. citizens, up to 6.5 to 7 million people,” said Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, on Boston Public Radio Wednesday. “We are very worried about it.”
A question asking citizen status has not been on a statewide census since 1950. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, has testified that the Department of Justice told him that putting a citizenship question back on would help stop voter fraud. Litigation has shown that the request came from Trump administration advisers.
Noorani joined BPR to talk about the citizenship question and more. His latest book is "There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome Prejudice and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration."
