Two FL immigrant rights groups join lawsuit over Census question: Is this person a citizen of the United States?

Two Florida-based immigration rights groups have joined a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s plan to include a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial Census.

The Florida Immigrant Coalition and the Family Action Network Movement were among groups from other states that joined this week in the court case.

The controversial census question asks: Is this person a citizen of the United States?
Those filling out the form would check if a person was born in the United States or is not a citizen.

The question hasn’t been asked on a Census since 1950.

“Nearly one in five people living in Florida is an immigrant, and with the administration adding a citizenship question at a time that the president is attacking immigrant communities, Floridians of all backgrounds are right to be concerned that the citizenship question will reduce their political power,” says ACLU of Florida legal director Nancy Abudu in a statement. “We deserve a Census that counts everyone fairly.”

Maria Rodriguez, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said, “Adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census is harmful, not just to immigrant visibility, but to municipalities that stand to lose millions of dollars in federal appropriations.”