Queens reps in census question fi ght
Maloney & Meng on winning side (for now) in battle with Trump over citizenship inquiry
BY BILL PARRY
Congresswomen Carolyn
Maloney and Grace Meng
celebrated a major victory
last week as the Trump
administration dropped the
controversial citizenship
question from the 2020 census
after a U.S. Supreme Court
ruling temporarily blocked its
inclusion on June 27.
Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross, who directed
the Census Bureau to include
the question, “Is this person a
citizen of the United States?”
suddenly reversed course on
July 2.
“The Census Bureau has
started the process of printing
the decennial questionnaires
without the question,” Ross
said in a statement. “My
focus, and that of the Bureau
and the entire Department
is to conduct a complete and
accurate census.”
Days later, however,
the Trump administration
made overtures that it would
find some way to get the
question included.
Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney, the co-chair of the
House Census Caucus, had
warned that a citizenship
question would lead to
immigrant families to not
fill out the form leading to
an undercount which would
have a drastic effect on
New York City.
“The ominous storm cloud
over the census has been lifted.
This administration is finally
following the law,” Maloney
said. “Moving forward with
the 2020 Census without the
citizenship question brings
us a step closer to a full and
accurate count. Today is a
huge win for every American
who stands for democracy and
equal representation.”
In its ruling, the Supreme
Court called Ross’ claim that
Queens Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (left) and Grace Meng played instrumental roles in fighting the Trump Administration’s
proposed citizenship question in the 2020 Census. File photos/QNS
they needed the question to
better enforce the Voting
Rights Act was “contrived.”
Congresswoman Grace
Meng called the development
outstanding news.
“The U.S. Constitution is
crystal clear: it requires the
census to count everybody in
the country, not just citizens,”
Meng said. “The tortuous
path to this conclusion was
littered with lies, obfuscation,
and obstruction from the
administration, including
Commerce Secretary Wilbur
Ross lying straight to my
face about the origins of
the question.”
During a hearing last
March, Meng asked Ross if
the president or anybody in
the White House spoke to him
and his team about adding
the citizenship question. He
said he was not aware of any
discussions, but then a court
filing later revealed that Ross
did talk about the issue with
the White House’s then-Chief
Strategist Steve Bannon.
“The plan to ask
respondents if they are
citizens was never about
‘protecting’ minority voting
rights. It was about depressing
response rates in immigrant
communities in order to skew
the census in favor of the
GOP,” Meng said. “Since the
fate of the citizenship question
has now been decided, the fate
of those who sought to add
it should be investigated to
uncover their intentions, and
I will continue to call for a
probe of Secretary Ross.”
In explaining the
importance of an accurate
census, Maloney explained
that “New York alone receives
$73 billion per year based on
census data for critical and
lifesaving programs. And of
course, census data is used
to assign seats in the House
of Representatives, apportion
votes in the Electoral College,
and draw legislative districts
at every level of government.
It is literally the backbone of
our democracy.”
Meng concurred.
“I can not stress enough
how critical is it for everyone
to fill out the Census,”
she said. “It is vital, and
the importance of having
accurate and reliable census
data is something that cannot
be overstated. There are no
do-overs; a mistake is a 10-
year mistake.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
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