Delaware is one of a dozen states planning to sue the federal government in an attempt to keep a controversial citizenship question from appearing on the 2020 U.S. Census. Daniel Sato/The News Journal/Wochit
Delaware is one of a dozen states planning to sue the federal government in an attempt to keep a controversial citizenship question from appearing on the 2020 U.S. Census.
The U.S. Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, this week said the coming census will ask respondents if they are citizens, a move supported by the White House. The decision was quickly criticized by some as one that would skew the results by dissuading those living here illegally from returning the census.
The Commerce and Justice departments argue it is valuable to have an accurate assessment of residents' legal status and that such knowledge would protect elections.
"The need for accurate citizenship data and the limited burden that the reinstatement of the citizenship question would impose outweigh fears about a potentially lower response rate," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a letter announcing the change.
But 12 suing states — Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New York and California, which filed its own lawsuit Monday — dispute the question's value and constitutionality.
The lawsuit is being filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Delaware Attorney General Matt Denn added the First State to the suit.
"The census will not affect Delaware's representation in Congress — we have one Congressperson now, and no doubt we will have one Congressperson after the 2020 census," Denn said in a Wednesday morning Facebook post. "But it was the wrong thing to do, done in an unlawful way, and that is why I decided to join on Delaware's behalf."
Denn was not available for additional comment Wednesday morning.
Mike Harrington, Chairman of the Delaware Republican Party, accused Denn, who is not running for reelection, of turning a simple question into a partisan issue.
"I don't see the problem is asking if you're a United States citizen or not," Harrington said. "Matt Denn should worry about Delaware and stop trying to play politics."
Harrington said he believes in keeping track of illegal immigrants and that, presented with a citizenship question, most people would answer honestly.
The constitution calls for a counting of every resident, citizen or not. The census, conducted every 10 years, last asked all U.S. households about citizenship in 1950.
The results of the census are used to redraw political boundaries, such as school boards and congressional districts. It's also used in distributing grants and subsides.
The administration of President Donald Trump has been vocal about its desire to remove undocumented residents from the country's boarders, and has taken action through immigration police and executive orders to fulfill that rhetoric.
For immigration advocates like Maria Matos, who runs the Latin American Community Center in Wilmington, the census citizenship question is an extension of White House policy. She says the president and the U.S. Attorney General are racists.
"They've lost all sense of morality," Matos said.
Matos said she applauds Denn for his decision to join the lawsuit. The citizenship question, she said, would depress responses to the census and skew how congressional districts should be drawn and how school dollars are distributed.
Matos believes the data would be used to deport undocumented immigrants, though the Census Bureau is barred from sharing individual records with law enforcement.
"He wants to send everyone back," Matos said. "This is part of the plan."
Contact at aduvernay@delawareonline.com or (302) 319-1855 or @duvINdelaware.
THE IMMIGRATION QUESTION