The census is a constitutionally-mandated, once-a-decade, instrument to count total populations by area, state-by-state; the purpose of which is to draw legislative districts, to apportion representation. The information obtained is used in many budgetary and public-policy decisions, which affect citizens and non-citizens and their communities. This data impacts the nation-wide distribution of $675 billion in federal funds for infrastructure and services. The government census amasses information on jobs, occupations, educational attainment, veterans, whether people own or rent their homes, and other findings. Individual census data is supposedly confidential, but the derivative data is shared with public officials, planners and even entrepreneurs for decision-making about hiring, marketing and locations. Citizenship status was asked from 1860 – 1950, and dropped in 1960. Adding the question back would absolutely deter non-citizens from responding, which undermines the purpose and hardly justifies the huge expense of its undertaking. With current administration’s raids on ‘illegals’, who believes that DHS & ICE would have no access to this government- gathered information?
Trish Forsyth Voss
Jul 18 2019
Should there be a citizenship question on the 2020 Census?
The census is a constitutionally-mandated, once-a-decade, instrument to count total populations by area, state-by-state; the purpose of which is to draw legislative districts, to apportion representation. The information obtained is used in many budgetary and public-policy decisions, which affect citizens and non-citizens and their communities. This data impacts the nation-wide distribution of $675 billion in federal funds for infrastructure and services. The government census amasses information on jobs, occupations, educational attainment, veterans, whether people own or rent their homes, and other findings. Individual census data is supposedly confidential, but the derivative data is shared with public officials, planners and even entrepreneurs for decision-making about hiring, marketing and locations. Citizenship status was asked from 1860 – 1950, and dropped in 1960. Adding the question back would absolutely deter non-citizens from responding, which undermines the purpose and hardly justifies the huge expense of its undertaking. With current administration’s raids on ‘illegals’, who believes that DHS & ICE would have no access to this government- gathered information?
Trish Forsyth Voss
By spiritspeak • Community Roundtable 0