Asian American Plaintiffs Speak Out Against Census Citizenship Question

Andy Kang, Legal Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Chicago: “Accurate Census data was critical to Advancing Justice-Chicago’s success in establishing a state task force to evaluate/analyze/assess in-language government services for immigrant communities. The addition of this citizenship question puts the integrity of census data in jeopardy and will force organizations like ours to spend more time and our limited resources on explaining how to answer the question and alleviate fears about the question when we should be underscoring the importance of participating in the census for a fair and accurate count for our communities.”

Michael Byun, Chief Executive Officer at Asia Services in Action, Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio): “Secretary Ross set the first domino in motion where insidiously one by one this citizenship question will affect the number of individuals who may participate, which in turn will eventually alter the available resources in our community for family stabilization services and access to benefits such as medical benefits, childcare assistance, and home energy assistance. Lack of data could also affect how my organization estimates the civic, health, and social needs of our diverse Asian American community.”

John Park, Executive Director, MinKwon Center for Community Action (Flushing, Queens, New York): “The citizenship question could stand in the way of hard-fought momentum we generated in 2010 when we increased response rates by 15 percent. With more than one million Asian Americans living in New York City and 78 percent being foreign-born immigrants, we are extremely concerned that the actions, policies, and plans of this administration have instilled greater fear and mistrust of the government among our Korean American and Asian American communities.”

Honorable Gene Wu, State Representative for Texas House, District 137 (Houston, Texas):  "I represent one of the largest immigrant populations in Texas. Many of these immigrants are refugees and asylum seekers from Asian countries where they experienced oppression and brutality by their own government. It is already a tremendous challenge to provide representation and services to these populations. They fear our government just as they feared their former government. The inclusion of a citizenship question will further drive these vulnerable communities into the darkness. Undercounting these communities will mean tangible harm and suffering for people who have already suffered so much." 

Assemblymember Rob Bonta, Chair, California Asian and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus:  “The Trump administration is systematically and intentionally silencing our immigrant communities by inserting the citizenship question in our 2020 U.S. Census form. The California Asian Pacific Islander (API) Legislative Caucus has worked hard to make all of our API communities visible through data collection, but the addition of this question threatens our visibility. Our communities are no longer confident that their responses will remain anonymous and may opt out of completing the form altogether. Adding an untested question is completely reckless and may potentially result in a significant undercount, leaving communities without proper representation and adequate resources. We are proud to join the nearly two dozen organizations and individuals to challenge the citizenship question and restore integrity to the U.S. Census.”

Cecil Fong, President, OCA-Greater Houston: "In the Greater Houston metropolitan area, we serve many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have limited means and limited English proficiency. A large part of our mission is focused on educating our constituents on their rights and civic duty. The citizenship question endangers this mission because it will result in undercounting our communities and diminish federal funds for programs on which many families and children rely. An accurate census is thus vital to our work and the overall welfare of our communities.”

Honorable Mia Gregerson, State Representative for Washington House (SeaTac, Washington): “I serve in a district with the state of Washington's largest immigrant and refugee communities.   These communities have higher and more complicated needs than in other parts of the state.  Prior to the Affordable Care Act we had the most uninsured residents in the county.  Through accurate data we were able to target resources to community leaders who could support the network for accurate registration processes.  Since being in elected office we lost the lives of several Burmese families due to preventable apartment fires. Without accurate representation our notification and messaging campaigns will not support the most fragile and newest members of the district.  These fires were started in the cold months and they didn't know about the dangers of cooking on fires inside.  The census tract prepares us to plan accordingly on how to effectively spend tax dollars to those with the most needs.  The additional question related to immigration status will cause a huge vacancy in participation.  Therefore leaving entire communities under represented.”

Honorable Raj Mukherjee, State Assemblyman (Jersey City, New Jersey): “As a lawmaker representing Jersey City, the home of Ellis Island and a stone's throw from Lady Liberty, it is fitting that my legislative district is also one of the most diverse in the country and home to one of New Jersey's largest immigrant populations. The unconscionable proposed addition of a citizenship question in the upcoming census will lead to an undercount of both documented and undocumented immigrants and will drive an already vulnerable community further into the shadows. My inability to effectively represent and provide constituent services to these populations will result in families being torn apart and economic and public safety harms. It is unconstitutional, un-American, and inconsistent with the values I enlisted in the Marine Corps to defend.”

Honorable Cindy Ryu, State Representative for Washington (Shoreline, Washington): "I represent one of the largest foreign-born and immigrant populations in Washington State. Many of these immigrants are refugees and asylum seekers from Asian countries where they experienced oppression and brutality by their own government. It is already a challenge to provide representation and services to these populations. They fear our government just as they feared their former government. The inclusion of a citizenship question will further drive these vulnerable communities including their USA-born children into the darkness. Undercounting these communities will mean tangible harm and suffering for people who have already suffered so much."

Honorable Sharon Tomiko Santos, State Representative for Washington (Seattle, Washington): "As a State Representative with a diverse district in Washington state, I am deeply concerned about the 2020 Census citizenship question. I serve a population of residents who are low-income, and more than one-third of students qualify for free-and-reduced lunch. We have a high immigrant and Asian American and Pacific Islander population and are home to the largest English learning student population in the state. If there is a citizenship question on the 2020 Census, both citizens and non-citizens will fear participation, depriving our district of accurate representation and necessary resources. We cannot afford to fail our communities."