Civil Rights, Census Advocates Applaud Ruling to Remove Citizenship Question

January 15, 2019

For Immediate Release
Contact: Shin Inouye, 202.869.0398, [email protected]

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference Education Fund, released the following statement after U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled in the New York cases to remove the citizenship question from the 2020 Census form:

“Today’s decision vindicates what we know: the addition of the citizenship question was based, in Judge Furman’s own words, on ‘acts and statements of officials with something to hide’ and should be removed. Congress must act now. The Trump administration violated the law by adding a question to the 2020 Census that will undoubtedly reduce participation by immigrants and people of color. When the census misses anyone in a community, everyone in that community receives less than their fair share of representation and funding for vital public services for the next 10 years. Congress must now step in to remove the question and lift any cloud of uncertainty that will hang over final census preparations if the issue remains tied up in the courts.”

The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit leadershipconferenceedfund.org.