The U.S. Census Bureau is preparing for its 2020 decennial “enumeration” of the population, as the Constitution mandates. At the same time, two lawsuits—including one filed in New York by 17 Democratic attorneys general, the District of Columbia, six cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors—are challenging the method of the count, seeking to prevent the Census from asking respondents whether they are U.S. citizens. A political firestorm has ensued: the boundaries of congressional districts, and even each state's congressional allotment, could hang in the balance. That's because the Constitution requires that the congressional apportionment be determined by total population, not just the number of citizens. Residents without the right to vote—children, prisoners, recent immigrants—are counted, too. The implications of inquiring about citizenship are many, with possible bearing on which party will gain control of the House.
Opponents of the citizenship question contend, perhaps correctly, that it will reduce Census participation by illegal immigrants, and even some legal immigrants. As things stand now, without a citizenship question, the Census favors Democrats. Far more districts represented by Democrats than Republicans have significant percentages of foreign-born residents.
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