“An accurate census count is a moral and a public health issue”: PHI Statement on Supreme Court Census Ruling

Statement from Marta Induni, phD, Senior Director of Research

“The Public Health Institute welcomes the Supreme Court ruling today rejecting the federal administration’s rationale for adding a citizenship question to the census.

“There is no “genuine justification” for adding a citizenship question to the census—it was meant to intimidate, punish and silence U.S. citizens and immigrants, and force a purposeful undercount of some of our most vulnerable residents in order to deny them representation, resources and critical public health services.

“An accurate census count is a moral and a public health issue—and a constitutionally mandated one as well. Accurate census counts guide the distribution of more than $600 billion in funds each year to health programs such as Medicaid, emergency room services, school lunches and preventive care services. Census counts are used to plan for disaster and disease outbreaks and to implement social services.

“While the final decision on the implementation of the citizenship question awaits a “legal rationale” from the administration to be heard by lower courts, PHI is confident that the census will move forward unburdened and unsullied by a question on citizenship. There simply isn’t a legal reason to deny the presence, visibility and representation of anyone in the United States.”

Read Dr. Induni’s opinion piece on why the citizenship question undermines public health.