Ms. Jennifer Jessup
Departmental Paperwork Clearance Officer
Department of Commerce
Room 6616
14th and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230

RE: Comments on Proposed Information Collection on 2020 Census
 
Dear Ms. Jessup,
 
We urge the Department of Commerce to withdraw the citizenship question from the 2020 Census questionnaire because it will significantly undermine efforts to achieve a fair and accurate count of Latinos in California for the 2020 Census.

As community partners of the Latino Community Foundation (LCF), the premier statewide foundation focused on unleashing the power of Latinos in California, we submit this letter in response to the June 8 notice of the Federal Register requesting comments on the 2020 Census proposed information collection. We must ensure that the 15 million Latinos in our state obtain their equitable share of political voice and federal resources to match their demographic influence. Quite simply, the U.S. Census is a cornerstone of our democracy.

The untested and ill-timed addition of the citizenship question will heighten fear and anxiety in Latino and immigrant communities, and will lead to an undercount of Latinos across the state. A January 2018 poll commissioned by LCF showed that over 50% of California’s Latinos believe that their responses to the census might be shared with immigration authorities.  When five million Latinos  in the state live in hard-to-count communities, the citizenship question is antithetical to the constitutional mandate of counting all people.  

For these reasons, we ask that you not include the citizenship question and maintain the integrity of this important civic duty for all people.

Thank you for your attention to our comments. If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Christian Arana, Policy Director, at the Latino Community Foundation (carana@latinocf.org).

Sincerely,