Civil Rights Coalition: Census Citizenship Question Aims to ‘Consolidate GOP Power and a Whiter Electorate’

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rafael Medina, [email protected], 202.869.0390

WASHINGTON—Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to a recent report detailing Republican partisan efforts to add a citizenship question:

“The Hofeller memo confirms what we’ve known all along but is alarming nonetheless: the census citizenship question was motivated by blatant right-wing partisanship. The Trump administration has lied to Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court about why it added the citizenship question – voting rights enforcement was but a ruse. Republican political operatives plainly want to deny communities of color the health care, education, and other services they need in order to consolidate GOP power and a whiter electorate. We call on Congress to hold Trump administration officials – including Secretary Ross – accountable now and not to wait until after the Supreme Court ruling to do so. Our coalition continues to stand against the Trump administration’s efforts to weaponize and politicize the census. A fair and accurate 2020 Census should count everyone in this country – and our coalition will do everything we can to ensure that it does.”

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.