Although it will take place two years from now, the 2020 census has already been marked by controversy, specifically over its addition of a question about citizenship. Multiple cities and states, including North Carolina, are joining together to sue the Census Bureau and Commerce Department in order to remove the question from the 2020 census. The controversial question reads as follows: “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”
The participant of the census has a total of five options to answer this question. There are four “yes” answers including “born in the United States,” “born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or Northern Marianas,” “born abroad of U.S. citizen parent or parents” and “U.S. citizen by naturalization.” There is only one “no” answer which reads, “not a U.S. citizen.”
There have been many arguments that the inclusion of this question is unconstitutional, purposefully intimidating and discriminatory. After listening to these arguments I think that many of these critiques seem to be based on incomplete knowledge of the census’s purpose and history. This debate over the citizenship question is unnecessary, and we might learn more about our country’s demographics if the question is included in the 2020 census.
The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to implement the census in “such manner as they shall by Law direct” every ten years. Its purpose is not only to take count of Americans, but it is also for the purpose of reallocating funds for communities and adjusting the seats in the House of Representatives.
The Census Bureau is then granted the power to add, delete or adjust questions to the census after going through an extensive process that takes years to complete. There is also a common belief that the citizenship question has not been seen since 1950; however, I researched for myself and realized that this widely cited argument is not the full truth.
Beginning in 1970, there have been two forms that the Census Bureau releases to the public — a long form and a short form. The long form is released to one out of six households, while the short form is meant to be completed by all remaining households, and the citizenship question has been seen on the long-form census, but not the short form. The citizenship question has not been asked to all American households since 1950.
However, the long form of the census still had the question. Even as recent as 2000, the citizenship question has been present. The citizenship question was not included in the 2010 census simply because there was no long-form version. Since the question has been seen on our census multiple times since its creation, why are we debating its appearance on the 2020 version?
There is also no need for fear for citizens or noncitizens to respond to the survey since the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ information with anyone or any agency. According to the United States Census Bureau, “by law, the Census Bureau cannot share respondents’ answers with anyone — not the IRS, not the FBI, not the CIA, and not with any other government agency.”
North Carolina is home to many immigrants, with 7.7 percent of our population being foreign born, so this issue has a significant bearing on our state. But whether you are a citizen or noncitizen, the government cannot use your information for any other purpose than the census. The inclusion of this question will not harm its respondents, no matter their citizenship status.
Finally, the census is also an extremely useful tool to see how our country has changed, and the Census Bureau has cited this as their reasoning for including the citizenship question on the short-form of the 2020 census. The Census Bureau says that “a question about a person’s citizenship is used to create statistics about citizen and noncitizen populations.”
During the last couple decades our country’s demographics have changed, as have those of our state, and the data gained from the census can show these trends. After the results of the census, federal funds can be allocated to the respective groups, communities and school districts that need them most. Gathering the number of noncitizens in a population could actually create the opportunity for funds to be granted to create programs and services to help noncitizens.
Our state plans to go through with its lawsuit, but the lawsuit seems to be a waste of time and resources. If the respondents’ privacy is legally maintained, the question has been around for years and we can gather useful statistics, why is North Carolina fighting the question from being implemented?
It will be interesting to see if the question will or will not appear on the 2020 census. However, no matter the outcome, it is necessary to know the entire truth of what the inclusion of citizenship question entails before deciding if you believe the census’s citizenship question is inappropriate or informative.
