Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2020 9:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [2020census_tf] Trump Wants To Change Who Counts For Dividing Up Congress' Seats
Hello task force members,
You’ve probably seen this news, so I wanted to address it:
https://www.npr.org/2020/07/21/892340508/with-no-final-say-trump-wants-to-change-who-counts-for-dividing-up-congress-seat
It’s important for library workers and our communities to know that the administration’s memo
does not change who counts in the census, who should respond to the census, what questions the census will ask, or the confidentiality and security of census responses.
- The 2020 Census
does not ask citizenship or immigration status.
- Census response are
confidential and secure. They are protected by federal law and can only be seen by the Census Bureau to produce anonymous statistics. They cannot be shared with police, immigration agencies, or anyone else.
- The Constitution requires the census to count everyone living in the United States. There is no exception for citizenship or immigration status.
- Federal law requires all adults to respond to the census (the census asks for one response per household). There is no exception for citizenship or immigration status.
- It is crucial to know many people are living in a community when planning for hospitals, roads, and other crucial services. A complete count benefits every local community.
The president’s new memorandum does not change any of the above. It purports to change how the population will be tabulated
for purposes of apportionment and redistricting – after the census data is collected. (And it is highly doubtful whether even that will be allowed: many experts have stated their view that the policy is not lawful, and many influential organizations
and officials have already stated that they will challenge the memorandum in court and in Congress.)
However, the president’s memorandum could be a dangerous distraction from the importance of achieving a complete count in the remaining days of census-taking. In my opinion, we should not allow this action to distract or divide us in this
critical time. My advice to library staff is to focus on the message that responding to the census is
easy, safe, and important. A complete count benefits the whole community – it is important for everyone to respond.
Best,
Gavin Baker, MSLIS
Deputy Director, Public Policy & Government Relations
American Library Association
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