EPIC FOIA: EPIC Obtains Documents About Decision to Add Census Citizenship Question
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, EPIC has obtained documents (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4) considered by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Following a request from the Department of Justice, the Census Bureau announced that it would ask about citizenship status for the first time in over 50 years. The documents obtained by EPIC, and others who made similar requests, reflect the varying opinions from lawmakers, scientists, and immigration groups about the proposal. The documents also reveal that Kris Kobach, former Vice Chair of the now-defunct Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, urged Secretary Ross "on the direction of Steve Bannon" to add the citizenship question. According to an analysis conducted by the Census Bureau, the impact of asking about citizenship would be "very costly, harms the quality of the census count, and would use substantially less accurate citizenship data than are available" from other government resources. In a FOIA case against DHS, EPIC previously obtained documents which revealed that the Census Bureau transferred the personal data of Muslim Americans to the Department of Homeland Security after 9-11. As a consequence, the Census Bureau revised its policy on sharing statistical information about "sensitive populations" with law enforcement or intelligence agencies.
June 11, 2018| Share:
