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Over 600 Faith Leaders Denounce Addition of Anti-Immigrant Question to 2020 Census

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 9, 2018​

MEDIA CONTACT

Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202)735-7123​

Over 600 Faith Leaders Denounce Addition of Anti-Immigrant Question to 2020 Census​

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Commerce has announced that it would add a question on citizenship to the 2020 Census. This is the first time the question has been asked since 1950. In a national letter, released today, faith leaders are calling on Congress to exercise oversight and remove this question.

“This intrusive question, which has been excluded from the last six decennial U.S. censuses, is expected to cause participation in the census to decrease significantly — especially in immigrant communities where fear of government collection of this information is pervasive,” the letter states. “Such an undercount would have distorting and destructive consequences.”

“As a person of faith, I believe everyone counts in God’s eyes, and everyone should count in the eyes of our government,” said Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO, Faith in Public Life, and Former Chair of the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. “This discriminatory change makes it harder for the 2020 Census to do that. If Congress does not act to fix this problem, the impact on the census, on Congressional representation, and on our communities will be devastating.”

Prominent signers include (Organizational affiliations for identification purposes only):

Rev. Jennifer Butler, CEO, Faith in Public Life, and Former Chair of the White House Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; Bishop Gene Robinson, The Episcopal Church; Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, Middle Collegiate Church; Lisa Sharon Harper, Freedom Road; Valarie Kaur, The Revolutionary Love Project.

To read the letter and a full list of signers, click here.

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Faith in Public Life is a national network of nearly 50,000 clergy and faith leaders united in the prophetic pursuit of justice and the common good.

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