201906.27
0

Ruling on citizenship question brings relief for some, frustration for others — for now

by in News

Immigrant activists and many leaders of government agencies in Southern California expressed relief Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling that at least temporarily blocks the Trump administration’s plan to ask residents about their citizenship status on the 2020 Census.

But others who favor a citizenship question on the census were frustrated by what they viewed as a poor decision from a court that has tacked conservative on many other issues.

Still, even after Thursday’s ruling, the question remains unresolved. A lower court is slated to re-examine the administration’s reasoning behind the citizenship question, meaning the question could be asked next year.

  • Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, right, speaks with LA City Attorney Mike Feuer, center, and Supervisor Janice Hahn, left, after Supreme Court’s Ruling on the 2020 Census Citizenship Question Thursday, June 27, 2019. The Supreme Court ruled the citizenship question can not be put on the census. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

  • Supporters gathered at a rally by Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis Supreme Court’s Ruling on the 2020 Census Citizenship Question Thursday, June 27, 2019. The Supreme Court ruled the citizenship question can not be put on the census. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

  • Sound
    The gallery will resume inseconds

  • Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis speaks about the Supreme Court’s Ruling on the 2020 Census Citizenship Question Thursday, June 27, 2019. The Supreme Court ruled the citizenship question can not be put on the census. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

of

Expand

And with Southern California one part of the country that might be most affected by the citizenship question, and with billions of dollars in federal money hanging in the balance, local activists and others hoping for an accurate head count said they will continue to fight the proposed change – and keep people informed about the status of the citizenship question.

“We will work hard to… educate our community about this important development,” said Miguel Hernandez, executive director of Orange County Congregation Community Organization, and co-chair of a group leading census outreach efforts in Orange County.

Though the Trump administration argued the citizenship question is aimed at enforcing voting rights in immigrant communities, critics argue it is the opposite: a tool to reduce census response rates and, with that, political power among Latinos and Asians. The decennial national head count is key to allocating seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and electors in the Electoral College.

Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, said immigrants can view participation in the census as “an act of resistance” against the Trump administration.

“This is one time when immigrants should be seeking out the government, not running away from it,” Salas said during a rally that included about 80 people Thursday in downtown Los Angeles.

And many public officials in Southern California, regardless of political preference, don’t like the question because they believe an inaccurate count will mean less federal money for everything from roads and schools to federal courts.

But that exact issue is part of why others favor a citizenship question on the census, as they say federal money should go to help citizens. Many in the pro-question camp said Thursday that the court erred.

“The decision is incoherent, political and an example of the judiciary involving itself in areas that are outside its competency,” said Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR,) which advocates for controlled borders and reduced immigration.

“The Census Bureau has been given broad authority by Congress to carry out the Census and this question was entirely within the purview of that authority and should have been respected,” Stein said in a video posted online Thursday.

People on both sides of the citizenship question figure to press the issue going forward.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said after the ruling Thursday that the state is spending $187 million to make sure all California residents – including at least 2 million who are here illegally – will respond to the census. In 2010, the state spent just $2 million on such efforts.

“Regardless of the decision that came down, we were not waiting passively,” Newsom said. “The census touches every corner of our lives. It’s about the allocation fundamentally of political power.”

In 2016, he added, the state brought in $115 billion in federal money.

But Newsom and others also said Thursday that even if citizenship isn’t asked in next year’s census, publicity about it has already made it likely that the response rate among immigrants will be lower than it should be. Many immigrants – including people who live in families with both citizens and non-citizens – fear their census responses will make them targets for deportation. Community leaders emphasized Thursday that all census information is kept confidential.

“Just a few days ago, we were warning about ICE raids,”  Newsom said. “And we encouraged members of our community to not answer the door unless there’s a warrant. We wanted folks to know their rights.

“Now, we want everyone to know that it’s critical that they answer the (census) questionnaire and the survey,” he added. “We have work to do.”

Others pointed to another hurdle to getting an accurate count in the 2020 Census: money. Next year’s census will be the first conducted primarily online, making it tougher to get accurate response rates among immigrants and others with less money for computers and Internet access.

“Ensuring an accurate census count is one of our most powerful offense strategies and most fundamental steps we can take as community towards equity and political impact,” said Luz Gallegos, community programs director for the Training Occupational Development Educating Communities (TODEC) Legal Center in Perris, Coachella and Victorville and part of a group working to get an accurate head count in the Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The stakes in the census extend beyond immigrant rights and political power.

The Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, received $328 million through a program that provides federal funds to schools with high percentage of low income students for the 2017-2018 school year.  An undercount in 2020 could lead the district to lose as much as $20 million of that funding, plus an unspecified cut in $40 million in federal aid it receives for other programs.

“The citizenship question is not some abstract, legal issue. It has real consequences in our schools,” L.A. Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner said in a statement.