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Everyone Counts
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T
since the 1950s.
he Constitution requires that a
The stated reasoning for including
census be performed every 10
such a question — determining the
years to determine how hun-
number of citizens — is circumspect,
dreds of billions in federal dollars are
at best. Its implicit goal is to
spent each year, reallocate repre-
marginalize communities
sentative seats by population and,
of color, specifically Latino/
of course, collect and share accu-
Hispanic immigrants, and
rate statistical data about persons
deter overall participation in
living in the United States. The
the census and civic activi-
2020 census participation and the
ties.
accuracy of its data are in peril.
Even before this question
The U.S. Census Bureau should
was proposed, the bureau’s
not move forward with the pro-
Ruby Robinson
own researchers noticed low
posed question asking about the
participation rates in field
citizenship status of every house-
tests last year by Latino/
hold member for its 2020 census.
Hispanic respondents based
Doing so will skew the results
on concerns over their data confiden-
of this critical census that, even at its
tiality. These concerns are heightened
most accurate, undercounted people of
now among already “hard-to-count”
color by 1.5 million in 2010 (Hispanics
populations, which include non-English
by 1.5 percent, African Americans by 2.1
speakers and persons who distrust the
percent and Native Americans by 4.9
government.
percent).
The climate of fear and mistrust of the
This undercount will increase in 2020
government is, based on my conversa-
if this question is allowed to remain.
tions every day with undocumented and
Since the first census in 1790, we,
documented persons whom I represent,
as a nation, historically undercounted
at an all-time high. My clients are wor-
African Americans because they were
ried about reporting crimes to the police
considered three-fifths of a person for
when they are the victims and driving
constitutional purposes. Even after the
passage of the 14th Amendment in 1868, their children to the doctor for fear of
being detained. Expecting full census
African Americans and other persons of
participation in this climate is farcical.
color continued to be undercounted in
This question serves no statistically
censuses (and, of course, marginalized
and discriminated in almost every other legitimate purpose, and its inclusion
will only skew results to favor the pres-
aspect of American life, too).
ervation of a white minority in power
The recent decision to include a
through electoral representation and
question asking about the citizenship
status will lead to an even more statisti- greater federal funding at the expense
of those, who, statistically, comprise a
cally significant undercount by, likely,
majority in many areas of our country.
millions of people! This question has
This week marks Rosh Chodesh Iyar,
not been asked in the decennial census
Contributing Writers:
Ruthan Brodsky, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne
Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari
S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam
Finkel, Stacy Gittleman, Stacy Goldberg, Judy
Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss
Ingber, Allison Jacobs, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer
Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz,
David Sachs, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz,
Steve Stein, Joyce Wiswell
Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
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F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
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when, we learn from the aptly named
book Numbers 1:2 that Moses and Aaron
were instructed by God to take a second
census of the entire Israelite community
living in the wilderness. Unlike the pre-
vious census that occurred just weeks
earlier in Exodus 30:11, which was used
to levy a half-shekel from everyone for
building the mishkan, this new census
was used to determine the number of
men in each tribe available for military
service.
Ramban insightfully notices that one
difference with this census is that each
person is counted individually, by name,
before Moses and Aaron. Thus, when
Moses and Aaron are making decisions,
they are not doing so based on numbers
alone, but rather, remembering all the
people (not numbers) they are respon-
sible for.
Let us be guided by this interpreta-
tion that we, as a nation, are more than
just numbers of citizens or non-citizens.
We are people. And our census ought to
reflect our inherent values as humans in
what questions are asked.
Please share your concerns on the
census with your elected officials right
away. No community or state (Michigan
included) can afford to lose representa-
tion or federal dollars with a projected
undercount. And if your elected official
is unwilling to say something publicly,
please tell him/her that you can be
counted on to vote accordingly in the
next election. •
Ruby Robinson is the supervising attorney of the
Michigan Immigrant Rights Center. He also sits
on the board of the JCRC|AJC and is the co-
chair of its Government Relations Committee.
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My wife and I have been donating
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Tikkun olam has never been as
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Arnie Goldman is a resident of Farmington
Hills.
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