BREAKING: CAIR-NY Welcomes SCOTUS Decision Blocking Citizenship Question on 2020 Census for Now

CAIR-NY Welcomes SCOTUS Decision Blocking Citizenship Question on 2020 Census for Now

(NEW YORK, N.Y., 6/27/19) – The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-NY), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision to block a question about citizenship status from being included in the 2020 Census.

“The Trump Administration has been relentless in its xenophobic assaults, but today is a day of celebration for our immigrant population,” said CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher. “Our vital immigrant population can now be counted in the census without intimidation, and in doing so, will improve its accuracy. Every resident, regardless of citizenship status, deserves to be amongst those who share in the hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding to programs that are crucial to the well-being of families and communities."

“CAIR New York stands ready to support immigrant communities to ensure an accurate count and to protect census data from abuse,” said CAIR-NY Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed. “The Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, and President need to respect the Supreme Court’s decision and immediately proceed with a 2020 Census that does not include the citizenship question. The President has had his day in court and must now abide by the law. New Yorkers will not be intimidated; we will be counted in the 2020 Census. ”

CAIR-NY noted that, while the Supreme Court was unwilling to allow the citizenship question at this time, the decision indicated that the Trump administration could offer a more convincing justification for including the citizenship question on the census at a later date.

Last year, the United States Department of Commerce, which oversees the census, said that the question will be added at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice to prevent violations of the Voting Rights Act. President Trump falsely claimed that millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election.

Census data determines representation in Congress and how the federal government allocates more than $400 billion in public funds to state, local and tribal governments. Faith-based organizations and institutions can use census data to apply for grants.

Researchers estimated that the citizenship question would reduce responses by 8 percent.

SEE: U.S. Census Bureau Working Paper: "Predicting the Effect of Adding a Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census" (June 2019
https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6165808-U-S-Census-Bureau-Working-Paper-Understandin

Earlier this year, CAIR and its New York chapter (CAIR-NY) joined the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality and three American citizens of Japanese descent who were incarcerated during World War II in filing an amicus brief supporting challengers of the 2020 census citizenship question.

SEE: CAIR, CAIR-NY Join Japanese Americans Incarcerated in World War II and the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality in SCOTUS Brief Challenging Census Citizenship Question

A federal court in Maryland recently heard evidence indicating that the Trump administration conspired with an anti-immigrant extremist to include the citizenship question for the purpose of discriminating against Latinos and other immigrant communities.

SEE: Federal judge says census citizenship question merits more consideration in light of new evidence
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/06/19/maryland-judge-rules-new-evidence-census-citizenship-question-lawsuit

The New York-based civil rights organization encourages the New York Muslim community to be counted.

In January, a federal judge in New York struck down the proposal to include a citizenship question but the Trump administration appealed the ruling, taking it to the Supreme Court.

SEE: CAIR Applauds Judge’s Decision on 2020 Census Citizenship Question

When the citizenship question was first proposed, CAIR issued a statement decrying it as a part of President Trump’s ‘White Supremacist Agenda

SEE: CAIR Says Citizenship Question on Census Part of Trump’s ‘White Supremacist Agenda

CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos

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CONTACT: CAIR-NY Litigation Director Ahmed Mohamed, ahmed.mohamed@cair.com, 646-481-2103; CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, anasher@cair.com, 917-669-4006.