Trump Admits Defeat & Confirms 2020 Census Will Not Include Discriminatory Citizenship Question

Washington, DC — After several failed attempts in the courts, including the Supreme Court, today President Trump was forced to admit defeat in his battle to add the citizenship question to the 2020 census.

Statement from Dr. Leana Wen, President, Planned Parenthood Federation of America:

Today, President Trump was finally forced to give up his racist and discriminatory effort to force a citizenship question onto the 2020 census. Several federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have already ruled against adding a citizenship question to the census. No one is above the law and despite his best efforts, today, President Trump had to acknowledge that. We have had enough of the Trump-Pence administration’s relentless attempts to disempower people of color and we will not let our communities be erased.

“While the citizenship question fight is over, the broader attacks on immigrants is not. Planned Parenthood will continue to fight alongside our partners, to do everything we can to ensure that all our communities are counted and more broadly receive their fair share of resources and representation.

This citizenship question would not have been a harmless addition. Adding a citizenship question could have resulted in a significant undercount, which could lead to loss of seats in the House of Representatives for certain states and could ultimately lead to decreased funding for reproductive health programs for communities already lacking resources. For example, Medicaid, a program that one in five women of reproductive age rely on, accounts for 58 percent of census-guided funding. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also distributes funding for Title X, the nation’sprogram for affordable birth control, which is currently under attack, based in part on census data. Families with young children, families with low incomes, immigrants, and Indigenous populations have been historically misrepresented by the census. The Trump administration’s continuous attempts to add the citizenship question was a blatant effort to keep these communities in the margins.

As the census moves forward without this question in place, Planned Parenthood is committed to working alongside partners to make sure all communities are counted.

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With more than 600 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.