Menendez, Booker, Hirono, Schumer Reintroduce Bill to Prevent Trump Administration from Politicizing Census with Citizenship Question

Press Release

Today U.S. Senators Bob Menendez, Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) Maizie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) reintroduced legislation to prohibit the Secretary of Commerce from including any census question regarding United States citizenship or immigration status. The Every Person Counts Act of 2019 (S. XXX) also amends Title XIII of the United States Code to make clear that each decennial census shall tabulate the total number of persons in each State.

Last week, a U.S. District Judge ordered the administration to stop its plans to add the question to the 2020 Census, however, the administration is pressuring the Supreme Court to take this case and decide whether a question about citizenship can be placed on next year's survey.

"As I've said before, the federal census is not a tool to rally the President's base and we'll continue to push legislation to address this urgent situation," said Sen. Menendez. "The anti-immigrant agenda of this administration should not take over a constitutionally mandated count of every person living in the country. I'll continue to fight against this non-sense proposal and against every action to single out and diminish immigrant communities."

HIRONO

BOOKER

SCHUMER

The bill is also co-sponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

The Census Bureau must by law provide Congress with the final wording of the census questionnaire by March 31.

The Every Person Counts Act of 2019 would:

* Requirement: Amend title 13, United States Code, to make clear that each decennial census shall tabulate the total number of persons in each State.

* Prohibition: Prohibit the Secretary of Commerce from including any census question regarding United States citizenship or immigration status.

* Rule of Construction: Forbid an interpretation that would permit or require the census exclusion of populations based on age, personnel in the Armed Forces serving abroad, federal employees and their dependents stationed abroad or other persons outside the United States who are traceable to the State of their usual place of residence.