Trump Administration Must Respect Confidentiality of Census Information

November 19, 2018

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 regarding documents made available during litigation that indicate the Trump administration was discussing potential ways to share census information with other agencies, in violation of federal law:

“There is no debate about whether to keep census information protected – census confidentiality is protected by law. The Justice Department’s failure to confirm that guarantee is cause for great alarm. At every turn, the Trump administration has politicized the 2020 Census. The addition of Steve Bannon’s unnecessary citizenship question, along with these other fearmongering tactics, is part of a ploy to derail the count. With the census starting in little more than a year, the administration must affirm the strict confidentiality of census information to preserve public confidence in this constitutionally required count.”

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.