Monterey County joins lawsuit over 2020 Census citizenship information

Monterey County is now one of four counties in the nation to file a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from demanding citizenship information in the 2020 Census.

The lawsuit, which was originally filed last month in New York, was amended to add Colorado, Central Falls, RI, Columbus, OH, Pittsburgh, PA, Cameron County, TX, El Paso County, TX, Hidalgo County, TX, and Monterey County. As of this week, 18 states plus Washington, D.C. and nine cities are co-plaintiffs in the case.

Monterey County officials said, “Demanding citizenship information on the Census would depress turnout in states with large immigrant populations, directly threatening those states’ fair representation in Congress and the Electoral College, as well as billions of dollars in critical federal funds.”

Monterey County relies on $12.8 million in Child Care and Development grants and $2.6 million in federal infrastructure funding, which officials said could be jeopardized and affect all of the people living here.

There are also concerns California could lose a congressional seat in the House of Representatives.

County officials said the Census Bureau’s research showed that the decision to demand citizenship information would “inevitably jeopardize the overall accuracy of the population count” by deterring participation in immigrant communities.

Monterey County Counsel Charles McKee said the next step is to get a hearing in New York, where they hope a judge will issue an injunction and have the question removed from the census form.

Read the full complaint HERE.