The Constitution requires an accurate count of the nation’s population-–a census–every ten years. Unfortunately, the 2010 census missed more than 10 percent of young children, about 2.2 million children, age four or younger. Unless we act, we might miss even more young children in 2020. When we miss young children in the census it has serious consequences for them, their families, their communities and our nation – consequences that last for most of their childhood.
On Thursday, June 27, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 majority to block the citizenship question from being added to the 2020 Census, which is a major setback for the Administration. Opponents of the Administration’s effort to have a question asking people if they are citizens are deeply concerned that, in the current atmosphere of immigration raids, such a question will cause millions of people to not answer the census out of fear.
For the past several years, the Census has been underfunded, and some unintended consequences included reduced offices and Census takers. The decennial Census needs adequate funding, and it is essential that every individual is counted in the 2020 Census. The Count All Kids Committee and the Count All Kids Campaign are working to make sure that every child is counted in 2020. You can learn more and sign up for both the committee and the campaign at www.countallkids.org.
The President has indicated that he may seek to delay the constitutionally-mandated ten year census in an effort to get a different court ruling.
