Last year, the House and Senate introduced the Equal Representation Act (H.R.151 and S.2205) to add a citizenship question to the 2030 Census and exclude noncitizens from the apportionment process, which determines the number of members each US state sends to the House of Representatives. 

This bill is unconstitutional and violates the 14th Amendment, which requires the apportionment of the seats in the House of Representatives to be based on “the whole number of persons in each State” regardless of citizenship. Given that this bill seeks to change the constitutional mandate for the census, it would require a constitutional amendment, which Congress cannot do through mere legislation, as set forth in Article V of the Constitution. 

The addition of a citizenship question is unnecessary and would lead to a less accurate census, which is not what our country needs. Census data is used to determine where billions of dollars of federal funding are shared with communities across the country, for things like roads and transit systems, schools, hospitals, veterans’ care, disaster preparation, and many other important quality-of-life services. It is vital that these resources be funded proportionate to the whole number of persons in each community, as they are used by people regardless of citizenship status. An inaccurate census will only hurt Americans who need support in states and communities across the country.  

Urge your Members of Congress to protect the census today!