By: FIRM ( Fair Immigration Reform Movement)
Earlier this year the Census Bureau announced the inclusion of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The addition of this question has caused a great deal of uncertainty in the immigrant community and could undermine accuracy of the Census and lead to an inaccurate population count. Since federal funding and political representation is determined by the population count obtained in the census, an inaccurate population count would significantly impact individuals, families and the country. The 2020 Census Survey is not yet final and the draft survey is currently open for public comment until August 7.
This public comment period allows the public to voice opposition to the inclusion of a citizenship question. FIRM is recommending that all comments be submitted in advance of the August 7th date to ensure receipt by the Department and to allow for any technical errors that may occur. Who can submit a public comment? Anyone concerned with the inclusion of a citizenship question can submit a comment before August 7th . Comments can be submitted from individuals, organizations, elected officials, allies and other concerned parties. Why are public comments important? The Census Bureau and the Trump Administration need to hear loud and clear that our communities reject the addition of this question.
Public comments allow the administration to see and measure the opposition to the citizenship question. Submission of public comments also provides a public record of individuals who have spoken out against the inclusion of the citizenship question. What is included in a public comment? The goal of public comment is to share your perspective on the issue at hand. In this case, sharing your concerns about a citizenship question being added to the 2020 Census and the effects of this question on the accuracy of the Census, which is connected to resources for communities. FIRM is opposed to the citizenship question in the final survey. Some questions to consider when commenting:
How will this question specifically impact the accuracy of the Census and how will an inaccurate count impact your local community and state? Are there specific programs or projects in your community that are at risk of being underfunded?
How will this impact your organization and the work you are doing to get an accurate count of your communities? Will you need to add additional dollars to your state Census fund to increase community engagement and participation in the Census efforts?
How might this impact political representation in your communities? Submitting a comment: There are two ways to submit public comment.
We suggest that comments be submitted in English. Unfortunately, regulations.gov has little capacity to translate large quantities of comments and there is a higher possibility that the comment will be considered if it is in English.
Public Comments for 2020 Census HERE