Press Contact: 
Elliot Levy
Press Contact
202-800-7409
[email protected]

New York — In response to the Trump Administration’s announcement that they plan to add a question on citizenship status to the 2020 Census, Stosh Cotler, CEO of Bend the Arc Jewish Action, released the following statement:

“In a country that has too often failed to count all of its people fairly, the implementation of a modern, accurate, and equitable 2020 Census is absolutely critical. We see the Trump Administration’s actions for what they truly are: a way to make communities they don’t like invisible.

“The addition of a citizenship status question to the 2020 Census by the Trump Administration is a deeply cynical, political act that falls perfectly in line with this Administration’s pattern of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-refugee policies. The Administration’s assertion that the question is intended to help them enforce the Voting Rights Act is beyond absurd — this coming from an executive branch that has done everything in its power to make it harder for Americans to vote and has spread dangerous lies about the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election.

“The true purpose of this decision is to intimidate immigrant communities and discourage them from participating in the Census, and reduce the number of Democrats in state legislatures and in Congress, to the benefit of Republicans. We support efforts to challenge this insidious act and prevent the Census from being exploited for xenophobic, political purposes.”

_{Photo credit: Flickr user Spot Us}