STATEMENT: Ensuring all Nebraskans are counted and represented

***For Immediate Release***
Thursday, June 27, 2019

Contact: Magdalena Cazarez
Communications Director
Office: (402) 438-8853 Ext 119
Cell: (402) 504-0074
mcazarez@neappleseed.org

Ensuring all Nebraskans are counted and represented

Supreme Court rules a citizenship question cannot go forward before a legally justifiable reason is presented.

LINCOLN – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling questioning the administration’s justifications for adding a citizenship question to the census. Based on today’s decision, the citizenship question cannot go forward until the administration provides a legally justifiable reason to add a citizenship question to the census. The case will now return to the District Court. 

Adding a nonessential question on citizenship endangers the accuracy of the census and the values that have been deeply rooted in our census process for decades. The Census has promoted inclusion and prosperity for all. All Nebraskans should be counted and represented in the 2020 Census. Nebraska Appleseed’s Legal Director, Robert McEwen, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s decision:

We are pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the serious nature of adding such a question to the census and rejected the insufficient explanation offered by the administration. A full and accurate count of our population is critical because it allows our state to receive necessary funding for our healthcare, schools, childcare and development, foster care, school meals, roads, rural communities, and housing. The census is important in ensuring that all Nebraskans in our growing diverse communities are represented fairly. While this process is not complete, we remain steadfast in our belief that adding such a question harms all Nebraskans.”

Nebraska Appleseed is with you. The untested citizenship question undermines the goal of the census to count all residents, with real consequences for Nebraska. For example, Nebraska’s undercount in 2010 is estimated to have cost our state the equivalent of $1,109 per person per year in just five major medical support programs administered by U.S. Health and Human Services. A full and accurate count lays the foundation for a healthy democracy and communities that allow families to thrive and flourish. Our organizers are working with communities across Nebraska to emphasize how important it is for every Nebraskan to participate in the 2020 Census. 

 

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