Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

Census Immigration Question: Short-Sighted, Anti-Democratic Tactic

Tuesday, March 27, 2018, By Daryl Lovell
Share
CensusExpertfacultyImmigration

The state of California is pursuing legal action in response to the Trump administration’s decision to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census. The state’s attorney general and secretary of state call the move “anti-immigrant.”

Elizabeth Cohen is an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She says the citizenship question will discourage people who are worried about their immigration status to respond, which could lead to undercounting the population and depriving some regions of the country of important resources.

Cohen says:

“The mandate of the Census is to count the entire U.S. population as accurately as possible. This information is critically important to identifying and governing all residents of the United States. But leaders in the Republican Party have engaged in a long-term campaign against using the best possible methods for gathering Census data. In the recent past, this has meant rejecting statistical sampling methods that social scientists have tested and that offer much more accurate means of measuring the population than the outdated methods Republicans have insisted on preserving.

“Now, as expected, they have also demanded the insertion of an unnecessary question about citizenship onto the survey. The citizenship question discourages people who are concerned about their immigration status, or the status of members of their household, from responding to Census requests for data. This, in turn, artificially deflates the count of people living in areas where there are large numbers of immigrants.

“The long-term effects of undercounting the population include depriving some regions of the country – particularly cities – of important resources and the proper apportionment of Congressional representation. Inadequate resources affect public health outcomes, infrastructure, and economic development with profound and lasting consequences for all Americans. This is a short-sighted and anti-democratic tactic designed to circumvent the intended mission of the Census.”

——————

Colleen Heflin is a professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She says the addition of a new Census question this late in the game creates havoc in a process that is very precise and deliberate.

Heflin says:

“The enumeration of every resident of the United States is an enormous undertaking that takes years of preparation. The addition of a new Census question this late in the game when the placement and wording cannot be tested creates havoc in a process that is very precise and deliberate—literally the model of the world. More importantly, there is no legitimate purpose these questions serve other than to intimidate immigrants and suppress the count in areas of the country where immigrants are located. The question is clearly politically motivated and unfortunately injects politics in a critical governmental process.  Having Census estimates that are inaccurate will reverberate throughout our economy and only further erode the trust in government and empirical data.”

 

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Communications and Marketing

T 315.443.1184   M 315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu | @DarylLovell

820 Comstock Avenue, Suite 308, Syracuse, NY 13244
news.syr.edu | syracuse.edu

Syracuse University

  • Author
  • Faculty Experts

Daryl Lovell

  • Elizabeth F. Cohen

  • Recent
  • ‘ADA Live!’ Focuses on Protection and Advocacy Systems for People with Disabilities
    Sunday, February 28, 2021, By News Staff
  • Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review
    Saturday, February 27, 2021, By Robert Conrad
  • Important Update for Flexible Spending Accounts
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • Message From Dean of Students Marianne Thomson
    Friday, February 26, 2021, By News Staff
  • CAS in Intercollegiate Athletic Advising and Support Addresses Unique Needs of College Student-Athletes
    Thursday, February 25, 2021, By Jennifer Russo

More In Media, Law & Policy

Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review

Second-year College of Law student Hilda A. Frimpong has been elected by her peers as the next editor in chief of Syracuse Law Review. When she assumes her duties for Volume 72 (2021-22), Frimpong will be the first Black student…

‘8 Tips for Grad Students for Planning in 2021’

Timur Hammond, assistant professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School, wrote an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed titled “8 Tips for Grad Students for Planning in 2021.” Hammond also serves as a faculty liaison for the Future…

‘What’s the Point of Impeachment? ‘To Lay Down a Marker for History’’

Thomas Keck, the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics and professor of political science in the Maxwell School, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “What’s the point of impeachment? ‘To lay down a marker for history.’” Keck,…

Faricy Explores Public Perceptions of Welfare via the US Tax Code

In their new book, “The Other Side of the Coin: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditures” (Russell Sage Foundation, 2021), Syracuse University professor Christopher Faricy and Bucknell University professor Christopher Ellis examine how public opinion differs between two types of…

‘Improving the Security Situation Between US-Mexico’

Gladys McCormick, associate professor of history and the Jay and Debe Moskowitz Endowed Chair in Mexico-U.S. Relations in the Maxwell School, authored an op-ed for The Hill titled “Improving the security situation between US-Mexico.” McCormick is an expert on U.S.-Mexico…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.