(ConservativeInsider.org) – The Census Bureau has been working to compile and present the 2020 census data as requested by President Donald Trump. The report is to include information on both documented and undocumented people in the United States in accordance with a 2019 executive order. However, three whistleblowers at the agency told the inspector general for the Department of Commerce, Peggy Gustafson, that the report was “statistically indefensible,” putting it on hold for now.
Gustafson Questions the Bureau’s Data Quality and Priorities
On July 11, 2019, President Trump signed an executive order ensuring all federal agencies would share citizenship and immigration data with the bureau so that it could put together an accurate report of demographics in America. The Census Bureau had workers assigned to this report until the week of January 4. NPR correspondent Hansi Lo Wang shares part of what census data is used for:
EXCLUSIVE: The Census Bureau has stopped trying to produce a count of unauthorized immigrants that President Trump requested to alter the census numbers used for reallocating congressional seats & Electoral College votes among the states, @NPR has learnedhttps://t.co/0XoC1gDwTa
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) January 13, 2021
In a January 12 letter from Gustafson to Dr. Steven Dillingham, the Director of the Census Bureau, Gustafson details the whistleblowers’ allegations and questions the legitimacy of the bureau’s efforts. She asked Dillingham why the report refused to comply with Executive Order 13880, if the project was being prioritized, and if the data would meet bureau standards.
Bureau Forced to Stop Processing of Immigration Data for Now
On January 13, Dillingham detailed the situation in a response letter, defending both his bureau’s integrity and its need to comply with the law. However, he did ask his team involved in the data collection to “stand down” for now. Democrats are now calling for Dillingham to step down because of his leadership on this project:
NEW: Calls for the resignation of the Census Bureau's Trump-appointed director — Steven Dillingham, whose term ends on Dec. 31 — are now coming from Democrats in Congress. including @RepJudyChu, Rep. @GerryConnolly (L) and @SenatorShaheen (R) (H/T @ZachMontellaro & @lbarronlopez) pic.twitter.com/s0Q61P2bQ7
— Hansi Lo Wang (@hansilowang) January 15, 2021
Will Our Census Differentiate Citizens From Non-Citizens?
As this report is put on hold, it’s unlikely that the 2020 census will detail where citizens and illegal immigrants each reside. If this vital information is not produced, people, including undocumented immigrants, could be used for political gain.
If states are allowed to claim hundreds of thousands of extra residents simply due to vast numbers of non-citizens, this could lead to the depletion of Social Security and Medicare benefits, the loss of jobs for US citizens, and potentially have a harmful effect on our economy. Partisan politics must be set aside while the bureau processes data that will affect the future of our nation.
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