UnidosUS: Citizenship Question Is an Unconstitutional Outrage

WASHINGTON, DC –Today, UnidosUS (formerly NCLR)—the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization—issued the following statement in response to the March 27 decision to include a citizenship question in the 2020 census:

“We now know how far this administration—led by Jeff Sessions and Stephen Miller—will go in their vicious and perverse war on immigrants and the Latino community. Today’s decision means they are willing to flout the Constitution and destroy the decennial Census. The founding fathers were crystal clear that ‘all persons,’ not just citizens, were to be counted but, as we have come to learn, this administration does not care about history or the rule of law.

“It is clear that there is no positive policy purpose or reasonable justification for this decision. The consequences, though, of seeking to sabotage the Census less than two years before it takes place are enormous not only for our community, but for our country. If the administration succeeds in its ploy, millions of Americans will be disenfranchised and the health and education of our children will be undermined. This is why there is overwhelming bipartisan outrage over this decision, including from the heads of the Census Bureau in previous administrations on both sides of the aisle.

“We won’t stand by and let this administration rip up the Constitution in order to bully our community. We call on the courts and congressional leaders to reverse this appalling decision, we will work with partners in the civil rights community and across the political spectrum to fight it and we will not be deterred in our efforts to ensure America has the accurate count we all deserve,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía.