1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

As your constituent, I am strongly urging you to vote against the Equal Representation Act (H.R. 7109) that would ask questions about citizenship in the U.S. Census – and other similar proposals in the future. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution clearly states that the apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives is based on a count of “the whole number of persons in each state.” The federal government has allocated seats in the House this way since 1868, consistent with the 14th Amendment. These questions are unnecessary and intrusive, will undermine the census count in every state and community, and deepen an environment of fear for immigrant and mixed-status families. The inclusion of a citizenship question in the Census would have a chilling effect on migrants, resulting in an undercount of immigrant communities, both those lawfully present and those undocumented. If undocumented immigrants are undercounted in the U.S. Census, we would risk excluding up to 5.5 million children who are U.S. citizens but have at least one undocumented parent. Census data informs the allocation of $2.8 trillion annually in federal assistance to states, local communities, and families for a range of needed services. Asking about citizenship will result in many people going uncounted, especially those in low-income communities, and all of their residents will suffer. I urge you to vote NO when the Equal Representation Act comes up for a vote, and strongly oppose similar measures in the future.