Information Provided by LaGloria Wheatfall, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights/The Leadership Conference Education Fund
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, Muslim Advocates, Brennan Center for Justice, National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and 125 other grassroots, advocacy, labor, legal services, and other organizations on Tuesday submitted “friend of the court” briefs opposing motions to dismiss two lawsuits challenging the inclusion of an unnecessary and intrusive citizenship question in the 2020 Census.
The cases are California v. Ross, brought by the state of California and several California cities and counties, and City of San Jose and Black Alliance for Just Immigration v. Ross.
The groups write in part:
“Given its foundational importance to American government and society, the census must be above partisan politics. The misguided decision to reverse seventy years of consistent census practice and insert an untested citizenship question undermines the integrity of the count, damages our communities, and violates the Census Bureau’s constitutional and statutory duties to conduct a full enumeration of the U.S. population.”
The briefs note that the Census Bureau itself has long opposed adding a citizenship question precisely because it would lead to an under-count, which would “impact hard-to-count populations disproportionately.” The briefs also urge the rejection of the claim that the citizenship question was necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act. According to the briefs, the “sudden interest in enforcement of the Voting Rights Act is not credible” and, based on a recently released memorandum from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, was likely “pretextual.” Moreover, collecting citizenship data would in fact undermine enforcement of the Voting Rights Act because it would “under-count the minority populations who rely on that data to bring VRA claims.”
The California amicus brief is available here, the San Jose amicus brief is available here, and a full list of the participating organizations follows below:
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
- The Leadership Conference Education Fund
- Muslim Advocates
- National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund
- National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
- 4CS of Passaic County
- Advocates for Children of New Jersey
- AgeOptions
- American Anthropology Association
- American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO (AFSCME)
- American Federation of Teachers
- American Muslim Health Professionals
- American Society on Aging
- Andrew Goodman Foundation
- Anti-Defamation League
- Arab American Institute
- Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
- Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
- Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
- Asian Americans for Community Involvement
- Asian Law Alliance
- Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance
- Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment (APACE) – Washington
- Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice
- Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh (BCAP)
- California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
- Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
- Center for Popular Democracy
- Central Conference of American Rabbis
- Chinese-American Planning Council
- Christian Methodist Episcopal Church – Washington-Virginia District
- Citizen Action of New York
- Civil Rights Project at the University of California – Los Angeles
- Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues
- Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE)
- Coalition on Human Needs
- Colorado Center on Law and Policy
- Colorado Children’s Campaign
- Common Cause
- Community Service Society of New York
- Crescent City Media Group
- D & R Accounting & Tax Solutions, Inc.
- Delaware Ecumenical Council on Children and Families
- Democracy Forward Foundation
- Dēmos
- Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund (DREDF)
- Empower Missouri
- Equal Justice Society
- Equality California
- Faith in Public Life
- Family Equality Council
- FISH Hospitality Program, Inc.
- Gilmore Memorial Preschool, Inc.
- Hindu American Foundation
- Hispanic Federation
- Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Action (HOLA)
- Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters, USA-JPIC
- Illinois Association of Area Agencies on Aging
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
- Immigrant Justice Group First Unitarian Denver
- Impact Fund
- In the Public Interest
- Japanese American Citizens League
- Jewish Council for Public Affairs
- Justice in Aging
- Laotian American National Alliance
- Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
- LatinoJustice PRLDEF (Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund)
- League of Women Voters US
- Legal Aid Justice Center
- Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
- Let America Vote
- MinKwon Center for Community Action
- Muslim Public Affairs Council
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
- National Action Network
- National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Inc.
- National Black Justice Coalition
- National Center for Law and Economic Justice
- National Coalition for Literacy
- National Consumers League
- National Council of Jewish Women
- National Employment Law Project
- National Health Law Program
- National Human Services Assembly
- National Immigration Law Center
- National Institute for Reproductive Health (NIRH)
- National LGBTQ Task Force
- National Organization for Women Foundation
- National Partnership for Women & Families
- National Women’s Law Center
- N.C. Counts Coalition
- New Jersey Institute for Social Justice
- New York Counts 2020
- New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus
- North Carolina Asian Americans Together (NCAAT)
- Oasis – A Haven for Women and Children
- Partnership For America’s Children
- Paterson Alliance
- Paterson Education Fund
- Paterson Habitat for Humanity
- Passaic County Community College Child Development Center
- People For the American Way Foundation
- PolicyLink
- Protect Democracy
- Public Justice Center
- Research Advisory Services, Inc.
- Rock the Vote
- Service Employees International Union
- SOME, Inc. (So Others Might Eat)
- South Asian Americans Leading Together
- Southeast Michigan Census Council
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Texas Civil Rights Project
- The Enrichment Center
- The National Urban League
- The Sikh Coalition
- The Southern Coalition for Social Justice
- The Women’s Law Center of Maryland
- Theta Delta Sigma Society, Inc.
- Tikkun Olam Chavurah
- UnidosUS
- Union for Reform Judaism
- Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hidalgo County
- Virginia Civic Engagement Table
- Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice
- Women Employed
- Women of Reform Judaism
- Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia
- YWCA USA
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
The Leadership Conference Education Fund builds public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. The Education Fund’s campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States. It was founded in 1969 as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. For more information on The Education Fund, visit http://leadershipconferenceedfund.org/.
Muslim Advocates is a national legal advocacy and educational organization that works on the frontlines of civil rights to guarantee freedom and justice for Americans of all faiths.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize – and when necessary, defend – our country’s systems of democracy and justice. At this critical moment, the Brennan Center is dedicated to protecting the rule of law and the values of Constitutional democracy. We focus on voting rights, campaign finance reform, ending mass incarceration, and preserving our liberties while also maintaining our national security. Part think tank, part advocacy group, part cutting-edge communications hub, we start with rigorous research. We craft innovative policies. And we fight for them – in Congress and the states, the courts, and in the court of public opinion.
NALEO Educational Fund is the leading non-profit, non-partisan organization that facilitates full Latino participation in the American political process, from citizenship to public service.
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (NCBCP) is one of the most active civil rights and social justice organizations in the nation “dedicated to increasing civic engagement, economic and voter empowerment in Black America.” The Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) is the women and girls empowerment arm of the NCBCP. At the forefront of championing just and equitable public policy on behalf of Black women, BWR promotes their health and wellness, economic security & prosperity, education and global empowerment as key elements for success.