Purdue prof: Census citizenship question would alienate immigrants, could be ‘a disaster’ for social scientists, policymakers

Jay McCann
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Plans to add a citizenship question as part of the 2020 United States Census could result in a significant undercount of the U.S. population, which “would be a disaster for social scientists and policymakers,” according to a political scientist and expert in surveying Latino immigrants.

“And, of course, it would be a failure to carry out a key constitutional responsibility,” said Jay McCann, a professor of political science at Purdue University.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to vote across ideological lines to allow a citizenship question as part of the 2020 U.S. Census, according to a report by NPR. The Trump administration’s plan to add the question “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” was blocked by three federal judges in litigation filed by states, cities and other groups in New York, California and Maryland, before being considered Tuesday (April 23) by the Supreme Court.

McCann, who has spent the past decade surveying Latino immigrants in the U.S. to assess their attitudes on politics, citizenship and civic incorporation, said the question could heighten immigrants’ skepticism of President Donald Trump and the federal government.

“Surveys that I conducted within Latino immigrant communities in 2016 and 2017 show a very large increase in distrust toward the federal government following the election of Donald Trump,” McCann said. “This is not surprising given the harsh stances that Trump has taken against immigrants. Consequently, in this political climate, pledges on the part of census officials not to share responses with other government agencies will probably not be persuasive.”

It is possible, however, to ask about citizenship status and receive a valid response, McCann said, but interviewers must work hard to establish trust. Because respondents must answer all census items, including the citizenship question, under penalty of law, the bureau has predicted a decline in self-response rates.

“The kind of interpersonal rapport that survey researchers seek to establish with vulnerable respondents will not be possible in such an exchange,” McCann said. “Data quality will likely suffer because of this.” 

Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu

Source: Jay McCann, 765-494-0738, mccannj@purdue.edu