WASHINGTON — Census data shapes almost every corner of public life — from the amount of federal money funneled to school lunch programs, new bus routes and rural health clinics to the number of congressional seats allocated to a state.
As the country barrels toward the 2020 census, the Supreme Court must decide if the upcoming decennial census can include a question left unasked for over seven decades: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”
The question, the constitutionality of which was debated before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, could have sizeable consequences for states’ federal funding and political representation across the country, census experts said.
The U.S. Constitution stipulates that each decade the government must count every person in the country, regardless of citizenship status. A question about a respondent’s citizenship has been asked in the past, but in recent decades has been asked of only a small sample.
Beth Lynk, director of the Census Counts Campaign for the Leadership Conference on Human and Civil Rights, is concerned that adding a citizenship question, simple as it may sound, would undermine a fair and accurate census count. Noncitizens would be discouraged from participating based on a fear that they would be identified and possibly deported, she said.
“When communities don’t receive their fair share of political representation, that undermines their ability to live a safe, healthy and equitable life,” Lynk said. “The census has to be fair and it has to be accurate. Otherwise, it subverts what our very democracy stands for.”
Losing a seat at the table
The government uses population data calculated by the census to draw states’ congressional districts and determine the appropriate number of representatives they should have.
According to Election Data Services, 12 states including Pennsylvania might lose a congressional seat if a census undercount occurs. One less seat means less sway in Washington.
“I think that political representation is important,” said Sundrop Carter, executive director of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, a group of organizations advocating for immigrants, migrants and refugees. “We want to make sure that Pennsylvania is getting its fair share of representation. If we get an accurate count here, then our representation in Washington will actually reflect our population.”
The federal government distributes about $880 billion to local, state and tribal governments based on census data.
For every 1 percent of the population uncounted in the last census, 37 states across the country lost federal funding, according to a report by the George Washington Institute for Public Policy. The median loss per person left uncounted in the 2010 Census in these states was $1,091.
“If you have an undercount in a community then that [entire] community won’t get those resources,” said John Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice and chair on the Census Advisory Committee. “Here we’re not just talking about immigrants, because immigrants are part of every single community. Even citizens are going to get less resources in these regions because people in their community are missed.”
The road to the highest court
Supreme Court justices fired queries at government officials and civil rights attorneys at Tuesday’s oral arguments in the case, Department of Commerce v. New York.
Last year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced his plan to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, despite recommendations from the Census Bureau not to add the question.
Research by the bureau indicated a high probability of error if the census included a citizenship question, a Census Bureau memo stated. And preliminary tests of the question revealed it would likely result in inaccurate data.
According to the Census Bureau, the addition of the question could result in an undercount of 6.5 million or more people. Half a dozen former Census Bureau directors opposed the question.
“We’re making sure the state of Michigan receives its fair share of funding,” said Melissa Smiley, who works for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, a foundation leading mobilization efforts for the 2020 census in Michigan.
Her goal is to capture as complete a picture of Michigan as possible, she said. That means doing what it takes to reach every resident during the 2020 census.
“Anything that discourages people from filling out the census doesn’t help us achieve our goals and our goals are a fair and accurate count,” she said. An addition of a citizenship question would only complicate the process, she said. “We don’t think that the inclusion of that question helps our efforts.”
Civil rights advocates also said census participants, particularly immigrants and communities of color, would fear giving their personal citizenship status to the government and elect not to participate.
“I don’t think the potential negative impact can be overstated,” said Carter of the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition.
In her eyes, the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have already “isolated and stigmatized” immigrants and communities of color to the point that many feel targeted. This culture has direct repercussions on the integrity of the census, she said.
“We’re making sure the state of Michigan receives its fair share of funding,” said Melissa Smiley, who works for the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, a foundation leading mobilization efforts for the 2020 census in Michigan.
Her goal is to capture as complete a picture of Michigan as possible, she said. That means doing what it takes to reach every resident during the 2020 census.
“Anything that discourages people from filling out the census doesn’t help us achieve our goals and our goals are a fair and accurate count,” she said. An addition of a citizenship question would only complicate the process, she said. “We don’t think that the inclusion of that question helps our efforts.”
Matthew Tragesser, who works for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, an organization working to severely restrict immigration, is not convinced that the addition of a citizenship question would have a chilling effect on undocumented U.S. residents.
“The census surveys are conducted anonymously, and federal law protects the confidentiality of respondents,” he said.
But Yang of Asian Americans Advancing Justice said the fear held by some immigrants is justified, especially considering instances when the U.S. government has discriminated against immigrants and communities of color.
“It is understandable that people are going to be fearful of what the government’s agencies’ actual intent is,” Yang said.
The lawsuit before the Supreme Court merged a flurry of lawsuits filed since Ross’ decision to override the Census Bureau’s recommendations and add the citizenship question to the census. The state of New York was joined by 16 states, including Pennsylvania, in filing the first lawsuit against the administration.
Federal district courts in California, Maryland and New York have ruled that Ross did not legally implement the question and therefore the citizenship question cannot be included.
The Supreme Court will likely issue a final ruling in June.
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