Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored the Every Person Counts Act of 2019, led by Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), to combat the Trump Administration’s efforts to include a question on citizenship in the 2020 U.S. Census. This legislation would explicitly prohibit the Census Bureau from asking questions about citizenship or immigration status.
“The Trump Administration’s effort to add a political question on citizenship to the 2020 Census is nothing more than an attempt to undercount and underfund minority communities in Nevada, and across the country. It would have serious repercussions for Nevada – where one in five Nevadans is an immigrant. I’m proud to support legislation that would put an end to this misguided effort and ensure the Census takes a full and accurate account of our nation’s population.”
BACKGROUND:
The Every Person Counts Act is supported by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), SEIU, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, Common Cause, NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc, and the National Council of Jewish Women.
Senator Cortez Masto was a cosponsor of the Every Person Counts Act in the 115th Congress. She has been an outspoken critic of the Commerce Department’s decision to politicize the 2020 Census by including a question on citizenship.