The Citizenship Question Will Make For An Inaccurate Representation of The U.S.

The U.S. national government should not adopt the idea to include the citizenship question on the 2020 Census again. This is because the question will lead to an inaccurate representation of the United States. The Census accounts for many things: Demographics, federal aid, businesses, how the House and Senate are divided among the states, etc. To many, this may not seem important but let’s phrase it another way: The Census is an important national government evaluation because it is the reason we live the way that we do. It helps distinguish how much help we need for everyone. It is also here to make sure communities and districts are accurately represented.

What if you add another question that could potentially change the whole meaning of The Census? The question of citizenship can change the accuracy of The Census. The last time this question was used was in 1950. Using it can impose inaccurate data for the following years. For many, specially immigrants, this poses a potential danger for their stay in the United States. Without the participation of undocumented residents or those of mixed status, the whole community and district they live in is at stake. Because The Census happens every 10 years, the states with the most population can greatly decrease causing a dramatic change in the apportionment of congressional seats. That is, the data collected to determine the number of seats each state should have in the U.S. House of Representatives will change.

One thing that needs to be pointed out is that it’s not the non-participants fault. Even though The Census protects the privacy of those who participate in it, many will still fear of their information being used against them. Most of these people who fear this are immigrants and because of their abstentions, the demographics will be inaccurately represented. This can reduce help from the government towards it’s citizens and non-citizens.

So, why is this question still happening? It’s probably going to happen because Secretary Of Commerce Wilbur Ross said it should. He wrote an explanation on his decision saying that he acknowledged the advice of professional administrators to not reintroduce the question but that he would still do it. Ross wrote that there was no “empirical support” for their belief. Also, when the decision was being made there was no question for clarification in the White House when White House press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders mentioned that the question had already been used in 1965. The Census couldn’t have happened in 1965 because The Census only happens every ten years.

This imposes an idea that the whole purpose of The Census now, is to see who is legal or not. In order to run an accurate census on the year 2020, the administration needs to ensure the people that their information will be confidential and that their information will not be released to any immigration service because that’s the main reason why many won’t participate.