President Trump and the question of citizenship: round table of the editorial board

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said this week that President Donald Trump only wanted to "restore whiteness to America", which allowed Trump not to attempt to add a question. on citizenship at the 2020 census in the United States. Instead, the president issued a decree asking federal agencies to share their citizenship data with the Commerce Department.

The 11 July order also set up an inter-agency working group "with the aim of making available to the [Commerce] Ministry administrative records containing citizenship data for 100% of the population; ordered the Commerce Department to examine ways to "expand the collection of data on citizenship in the future" and instructed it to "strengthen its efforts, in accordance with the law, to obtain administrative records of the state regarding citizenship. "

These actions follow the federal courts' refusal to accept the administration's attempts to replace its legal team on the issue of citizenship. The previous team had accepted the US Supreme Court's decision that the Trump administration could not add the issue to the 2020 census.

The June 27 High Court decision followed revelations from a Republican official of internal memos that the real reason for adding the citizenship issue was to break the political influence of democratic states and regions. .

However, on July 3, President Trump issued a surprise tweet stating that the government "was going ahead" despite the Supreme Court's decision to add the issue to the 2020 census and, at one point given, told reporters that the motive was "constituency". "

Trump has now completed his quest to add the question to the census. In the meantime, other measures by the administration, according to critics, also aim to reduce participation in the census of communities of color, immigrants and other marginalized groups. Among them: a "test" census questionnaire, distributed to nearly 250,000 households, including the question of citizenship; reduction of regular census staff in charge of follow-ups with those who initially did not respond; and increased digitization of the questionnaire process.

So, what is our roundtable to the editorial committee? Has the President acted appropriately in trying to expand the government's access to citizenship data for US residents?

Ted Diadiun, Editorial Board Member:

This argument draws a clear dividing line between those who are anxious to keep people hidden here illegally and those who want everyone – including immigrants – to obey the law. Unlike Nancy Pelosi, it is not a question of restoring whiteness to America. It's about respecting and enforcing the law, which can be embarrassing for her and others who are happy to ignore it when it suits their goals.

Thomas Suddes, editorialist:

President Trump (for now, anyway) has given up on using the 2020 census as a kind of trap for immigrants. Congratulations. Common sense has won.

Lisa Garvin, Editorial Board Member:

You have to ask yourself: why does the Trump administration want so much information about citizenship that it is willing to bypass the Supreme Court? His order to search the archives of government agencies is a sign of despair. Trump's Freudian statements to journalists and the evidence of Republican late agent Thomas Hofeller leave no doubt that the intention to assemble the citizen status of each one can only be harmful.

Mary Cay Doherty, Editorial Board Member:

President Trump was right to change course; his hands were tied. But the question of citizenship remains important. Illegal immigrants should not count for the distribution of Congress. If Congress secured our borders and reformed the immigration law, the question of citizenship would not be so critical. But that will not be the case. And the democrats fan of useless fears. Digitization will encourage participation in the census, so it takes fewer workers to reach the 10% of non-Internet adults.

Eric Foster, Editorial Board Member:

In a few years, I'm waiting for someone to write a book about what it took for the president to change course on the census issue. Who was Don McGahn in this scenario? "I know what you want to do, Mr. President, but the Supreme Court just said …" The next president might want to give this person a Congressional Freedom Medal.

Victor Ruiz, member of the editorial board:

Another failed and pathetic attempt by our president to break the law. The demographics of this country are evolving rapidly and this was an intentional and desperate attempt to maintain an America that has exploited many. The changing face of this country can not be stopped, and if history will judge our present president, my question is how long will his followers let him act as if he were above the law.

Elizabeth Sullivan, opinion leader, cleveland.com:

President Trump did not hide his partisan political motives in trying to obtain the "document" from Big Brother who is a citizen and who is not. The best and most sustainable cure: the Congress must develop and adopt a real immigration reform.

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