National Faith Leaders Applaud Supreme Court Ruling in Census Citizenship Question
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 27, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT
Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202)735-7123
Mackenzie Harris, mharris@faithinpubliclife.org, (610) 283-8879
National Faith Leaders Applaud Supreme Court Ruling in Census Citizenship Question
Washington, D.C. — On Thursday, June 27th, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled against adding a discriminatory citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Faith leaders throughout the country applaud the Justices. This immoral addition to the 2020 census was designed to deter immigrants and communities of color from being counted.
Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO, Faith in Public Life:
“As a pastor, I know everyone counts in the eyes of God and must count in the eyes of the government. We commend the Supreme Court for ruling that the Trump administration’s racist citizenship question is out of bounds. We pray that the decision will stand. Adding this question to the 2020 census was intended to exclude people of color and immigrants. Beyond this victory for democracy, we still have much work to do. Faith leaders are leading the fight to ensure that all are counted, all are represented and all communities have the resources to thrive.”
Rev. Dr. Gabriel Salguero, President and Founder, National Latino Evangelical Coalition (NaLEC):
“As a pastor, I believe scripture is clear: we are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. That includes immigrants and their families. I applaud today’s decision by the Supreme Court and pray that the decision will stand.
Allowing the citizenship question on the 2020 census would be devastating — entire communities would be denied the political representation they deserve and the federal resources they need. Though we received good news today, I won’t stop fighting to ensure all communities in our democracy are counted, especially communities of color.”
Rev. Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference:
“I applaud today’s Supreme Court’s ruling on the citizenship question. People of African descent living in the United States know what it’s like not to count in mainstream policy circles. We know what it’s like to be misrepresented and underrepresented. We know what it’s like to be targeted and silenced. Though today’s decision was favorable, I will continue to speak out when any administration threatens to take away the opportunity for a full and accurate count of any community in the United States.”
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Faith in Public Life is a national network of over 50,000 clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice and the common good.