Every single person who resides in the U.S. has a constitutional right to be counted, and a fundamental right to health care. Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest is proud to work alongside our partners to ensure that the 2020 Census is fair and accurate. We all deserve to know that our tax dollars will make it back to our communities in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties.
The Census determines how the government allocates money.
The last census was in 2010. Our communities and their needs are different now. The 2020 Census will determine how the government spends over $600 billion in federal dollars –– including how many dollars go to reproductive health care programs. Census data helps us understand the health needs of the population and guides the distribution of funds. Money spent on hospitals, health centers, and other critical community services are based on the census count.
Census data determines funding to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP); Title X, the nation’s only program for affordable birth control and reproductive health care; and Medicaid, which one in five women of reproductive age rely on. Other funding determined by census data includes WIC (Women, Infants, and Children), Social Services Block Grants, and Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grants.
When people aren’t counted, their communities are underserved for years to come.
When fewer people from underserved communities participate in the census, it means the community will be further underserved for decades to come. Undercounting communities can lead to less representation and power in these already marginalized communities.
Representation matters. Communities that face the most barriers to health care have also been historically undercounted. Lack of health insurance and fear of detention and deportation have driven communities farther and farther into the shadows under the Trump administration.
Certain populations, like families with young children and babies, families with low incomes, immigrants, and indigenous populations, have historically been underrepresented in census data, adding to the myriad of barriers to health care they already face.
We can’t let the Trump administration undermine this Census.
We have seen the Trump administration attack people’s health and rights, particularly people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with lower incomes. We can’t let their attempt to undermine the 2020 Census to weaponize it against immigrant communities and purposefully undercount the country’s population succeed.
The Trump administration tried to add a question on citizenship status, but it was blocked by the courts. Still, the attempt to add a citizenship question has created fear in households — native- and foreign-born, citizen and non-citizen, as well as mixed-status families — and people are concerned about participating. It is important that everyone is counted regardless of immigration status to ensure people in mixed-status homes and our communities can benefit from Census resources.
Please participate in the census and encourage others to do so. We can’t allow this administration to continually promote policies that deny our communities support for their essential health care.
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Tags: census