APABA-PA Signs NAPABA Amicus Brief Opposing Citizenship Question
On March 25, 2019, the APABA-PA Board voted unanimously to join the NAPABA amicus brief opposing the late addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census., On May 23, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on the appeal from the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York that found that the Commerce Department addition of the citizenship question was a violation of the Administrative Procedures Act and from the Northern District of California District Court which found that the Department had violated the U.S. Constitution’s Enumeration Clause.
The reason for the expedited hearing is that Census Bureau forms are due in June 2019 in order to be ready for use in 2020. The New York District Court found that the citizenship question would likely result in a 5.8 per cent undercount of non-citizen households. The amicus brief argues that the question would have a significant adverse impact on the AAPI communities which (1) are comprised of many non-citizens and persons of limited English proficiency; (2) need the accurate data in order to protect the AAPI voting rights; and (3) already experienced trust issues based on the Commerce Department’s illegal disclosure of Japanese American data in World War II.
NAPABA and AALDEF Lead AAPI Amicus Brief Opposing Citizenship Question on the Census (April 2, 2019 )
WASHINGTON – The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court opposing the addition of a proposed citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Sixty-four (64) bar associations and AAPI-serving community organizations joined the brief.
- On April 29, 2019