Is it fair to ask about citizenship on the census?

@Graylight [quote]This is a transparent ploy to force the numbers of illegal immigrants down so that the administration looks better.[/quote]

Census information has been used since 1790 to assist in drawing congressional district boundary lines. With the exception of the 1920 Census, an apportionment has been made by the Congress on the basis of each decennial census from 1790 to 2010.

From the census website -
The Constitutional basis for conducting the decennial census is to reapportion the U.S. House of Representatives. Apportionment is the process of dividing the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U.S. House of Representatives among the 50 states.


I'm glad to have taught you something today.
Now share your new knowledge with your friends and family!

Or, make shit up to suit your political agenda.

@Graylight @Budwick From what I’ve read, it’s not just [i]illegal[/i] immigrants but also legal immigrants that will be reluctant to answer the census if it includes a question of citizenship, and the census also has a profound effect on congressional funding. The result will be that white communities will get more congressional funding while communities with immigrants will become poorer than they already are. This is particularly insidious because it’s not really going to cause any kind of backlash or outrage, most people won’t even have any clue that’s what’s happening.

@JP1119 My recollection has been that there are lots of people of all description reluctant to respond to the census questionnaire for a myriad of reasons. One of the most obvious is that we have all learned how our personal information can be harvested by bad players - and we've seen the Obama administration for example weaponize the IRS against certain parties with 'undesirable political persuasions'.

So, it's not just illegal immigrants, or legal immigrants - everybody has some degree of concern.

@Budwick I’m pretty sure the census doesn’t ask what party or political persuasion you subscribe to. Instead of “reluctant”, I should have used the word “intimidated”, I think that would be a more accurate characterization. So why exactly does the government need to know how many citizens there are and where they live? How do you justify intimidating more people into not answering the census?

The article I read said that Wilbur Ross, Trump’s Secretary of Commerce, testified in court that the citizenship question was needed to uphold the Voting Rights Act. Of course the Court’s conservatives at least pretended to buy it. The article likened Trump using the citizenship question to uphold the Voting Rights Act to Jack the Ripper saying he carries a knife to protect women!

@JP1119 Which question / comment would you like me to respond to?

I would defer you to the Census website for the bulk of your answers. They explain the need for the census there. It's ion the Constitution, always has been.

As to your take on the voting rights act, I think you may be over reacting a bit.

@Budwick That's not why the census is conducted. It's one of the healthful benefits of having a census. I'm not even going to begin to try to explain the concept to you.

@Graylight [quote]I'm not even going to begin to try to explain the concept to you.
[/quote]

No, of course not.
I understand.
Thank you for your comments.

@Budwick No, no you don't. You're blind and willful ignorance, combined with your crafts and defensive fighting tactics prove that point for me.

@Graylight Gray, I'm so very sorry that I seem unable to provide a satisfactory response for you.

You're obviously very upset.

Have you considered blocking me?
To avoid these episodes?

@Budwick Not upset, not triggered, heartbeat hasn't raised a bit. Yet another conservative tactic to make themselves feel better. No, I don't think I'll block you. I'd prefer to keep my eye on the real troublemakers.

@Graylight [quote]Not upset, not triggered, heartbeat hasn't raised a bit.[/quote]

So, you normally talk like that to people?
Interesting.

OK, see ya.

@Budwick Idjit.

@Budwick We never needed a citizenship question before, [i]that’s[/i] not in the Constitution. Why now?

As for my Jack the Ripper analogy, I don’t mean that Trump enjoys killing people, it sounds like that’s what you got out of it but that’s not what I’m trying to say. Basically I’m saying that the citizenship census question will have the opposite effect to upholding the Voting Rights Act (just like Jack the Ripper used a knife to do the opposite of protecting women). I don’t know/remember enough about the Voting Rights Act nor about Ross’s/Trump’s argument to get the connection as to [i]how[/i] a citizenship question on the census would supposedly be necessary or even helpful in enforcing it; however, I’m under the impression that the Voting Rights Act is a law of inclusiveness, intended to increase participation in our elections, whereas a citizenship question would have an exclusive effect, pushing an already under-privileged group further to the margins.

@JP1119 [quote]We never needed a citizenship question before, that’s not in the Constitution. Why now?[/quote]

Why not?
You may have heard over the past few decades that there are a large number of people crossing the border. We don't know who they are, where they are going, etc. It's been estimated that there are between 11 and 31 million of these people here. We have a right / obligation to know who is here.

Why now? Cuz your party has been in over drive enticing illegals to risk their lives coming here in unprecedented numbers.

@Budwick [quote]Why not?[/quote] Because it intimidates people into not answering the census at all. If, as you say, you want to know who is here, then don’t ask if they’re citizens.

[quote]Cuz your party has been in over drive enticing illegals to risk their lives coming here in unprecedented numbers.[/quote] I think you’re overreacting. How are we doing that? Things like raising the minimum wage, making health insurance affordable for more people, improving infrastructure, things that help everyone? Immigrants, legal or illegal, being enticed to come here is a natural consequence of making our country a good place for everyone to live. I know! Let’s turn America into a shit hole country. That way we don’t have to worry about illegal immigrants wanting to come here!

@JP1119 Well, thanks for your opinion.
I think they will ask the question despite your opinion.