In an important step for Seattle and immigrant and refugee communities across the country, a federal judge in New York blocked the Trump administration from including a citizenship question as part of the United States 2020 Census. In April, City Attorney Pete Holmes and Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced that the City of Seattle joined a coalition of Attorneys General, cities and counties, and the bipartisan U.S. Conference of Mayors to sue the U.S. Department of Commerce for violating federal law.
“The court’s ruling is a victory in the fight against the Trump administration’s unjust proposal that would take the Census back to the 1950s. It would stifle democracy and undercount communities of color and our immigrant and refugee neighbors. Thank you to City Attorney Holmes for your leadership in fighting this unjust plan,” said Mayor Durkan. “While this is an important step, we know the Trump administration will continue to push for the unjust citizenship question. Working with our communities, the City of Seattle is committed to protecting our immigrant and refugee neighbors and ensuring a just, fair, and informed Census.”
“It’s sad that we had to join a lawsuit to push the Trump Administration to accurately and completely count every person living in the United States, but these aren’t normal times,” said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes. “Adding a citizenship question to the census would likely result in fewer people participating in the census count, and that’s according to the Census Bureau itself. I’m very pleased with today’s ruling.”
In August 2018, Mayor Durkan announced the creation of the Seattle Census Task Force – a coalition of community organizations and elected officials that are organizing Seattle’s preparation for the 2020 Census.