April, 23 2019, 12:00am EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Su Patel, press@nyic.org, 917-940-6402
Jasmine Nazarett, jnazarett@communitychange.org, (954) 471-9080
Lizette Olmos, lolmos@wearecasa.org, (202) 213-1293 mobile
Yatziri Tovar, yatziri.tovar@maketheroadny.org, (917) 771-2818
#CountMeIn: Immigrant Rights Community Rally Outside of the Supreme Court
Plaintiffs and Allies Call for A Fair and Accurate 2020 Census
WASHINGTON
Immigrants, communities of color, refugees and progressive allies rallied in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, today, in support of a fair and accurate 2020 census. After the Trump administration unlawfully added a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a number of grassroots community groups, cities and states filed lawsuits to stop the administration's untested and dangerous question. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments brought forward by CASA, Make the Road New York, New York Immigrant Coalition and others.
"We're confident that the Supreme Court will uphold Judge Furman's careful decision to block the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The facts are clear: the census is simply an enumeration of residents, as Constitutionally mandated. Adding the citizenship question will have an especially chilling effect on communities of color, depriving immigrant-rich states of federal dollars and political representation, while virtually erasing our communities. We are ready to win this battle in the Supreme Court as we did in the lower courts, and ensure that every New Yorker is counted in our democracy for the benefit of all," said Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.
"Three federal courts have unanimously ruled against the addition of the citizenship question, and our community urges the Supreme Court to affirm their decision," said Natalia Aristizabal, Co-Director of Organizing at Make the Road New York. "The census is fundamental for our democracy, and across the country, immigrant families are at risk of being undercounted if the citizenship question is added. Our community is standing up to protect our democracy by ensuring a full and accurate count of all those who reside in this country."
Communities of color, including immigrant communities, are historically "hard to count." A question about status would depress participation of these communities even more for fear of being separated from their loved ones. The data collected by the census is used to inform a wide range of decisions that directly impact people living in the country, independent of their status. The decisions about where to build hospitals, schools, roads and add new businesses are linked to the decennial count of the population. The distribution of more than $700 billion in federal resources is also tied to the census.
"The Census is important because each one of us needs to be counted. If the citizenship question is included in the Census, it would affect our community because people would not want to fill it out. Therefore, the necessary resources would not get into our community, and this is a way to continue segregating immigrants and communities of color," said Maya Ledezma, CASA member.
The census also matters because an accurate count is needed to determine Congressional representation. Lower participation from Latino, Black and immigrant communities, would leave a generation without fair representation at the federal and state levels.
"A fair and accurate 2020 census is critical for the next generation of Americans to be able to thrive," said Sulma Arias, immigration field director at Community Change and FIRM. "A question about citizenship is dangerous and is intended to intimidate our communities. That is why we are committed to ensuring each and every one of us is counted, and that our voices are heard."
The New York Immigration Coalition aims to achieve a fairer and more just society that values the contributions of immigrants and extends opportunity to all. The NYIC promotes immigrants' full civic participation, fosters their leadership, and provides a unified voice and a vehicle for collective action for New York's diverse immigrant communities.
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Shortly after entering office in 2021, then-President Joe Biden revoked the presidential permit for Keystone XL—which Trump had signed during his first term—as part of the Democrat's efforts to combat the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency.
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As the AP detailed:
Bridger Pipeline and other subsidiaries of True Company have been responsible for several major pipeline accidents including more than 50,000 gallons (240,000 liters) of crude that spilled into the Yellowstone River and fouled a Montana city's drinking water supply in 2015, a 45,000-gallon diesel spill in Wyoming in 2022 and a 2016 spill that released more than 600,000 gallons (2.7 million liters) of crude in North Dakota, contaminating the Little Missouri River and a tributary.
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A public comment submitted to the Trump administration by the legal group Earthjustice on behalf of Honor the Earth, Sierra Club, WildEarth Guardians, and a dozen other organizations acknowledges concerns about this pipeline's potential impacts to water, land, the climate, air quality, cultural resources, recreation, and more—and called for an intense federal review of the project.
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Sierra Club Montana chapter director Caryn Miske stressed that "while the Trump administration kills affordable energy projects and jobs across the country, it is continuing to side with wealthy corporations and oil executives looking to increase profit regardless of the risks to Montana's treasured waterways and to families and businesses struggling with high energy costs. These policies aren't about fair or free markets, it's welfare for corporations and pollution for everyone else."
Earthjustice is also representing 350 Montana, Center for Biological Diversity, Families for a Livable Climate, Montana Environmental Information Center, Montana Health and Climate, Mountain Mamas, Red Medicine LLC, Western Environmental Law Center, Western Organization of Resource Councils, Western Watersheds Project, Wild Montana, and Wyoming Outdoor Council.
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The decision effectively erased the last remaining provision of Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA), which allows voters of color to challenge racially discriminatory electoral maps in court.
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The petitioners argued that Landry's move "exceeds the governor’s authority under Louisiana’s laws and Constitution to invoke emergency power to stop the congressional primary elections based on a US Supreme Court ruling and not a natural disaster, public health, or similar emergency threatening the physical safety of Louisianians."
BREAKING: We're suing Louisiana officials for suspending the state's primary election after voting has already begun.On the heels of a Supreme Court decision that eviscerated protections for voters of color, elected officials jumped at the chance to disenfranchise people — we won't allow it.
— ACLU (@aclu.org) May 1, 2026 at 1:52 PM
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Separately on Friday, Louisiana voters who already cast ballots in the primary filed a petition in state court seeking a restraining order to block Landry's move on the same grounds the other groups are arguing.
"Ballots were sent to military voters and overseas voters as required by federal law a month ago," the motion states. "Mail ballots were sent to other voters entitled to vote by mail under Louisiana law almost a week ago. As a result, many voters—including among the petitioners here—have already voted."
The petitioners—the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW)-Greater New Orleans Section and three individual voters—contended that "the governor’s extraordinary and unlawful assertion of the power to cancel an election midstream is both unprecedented and unjustified."
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🚨BREAKING: On behalf of the National Council of Jewish Women and Louisiana voters, my law firm has sued Governor Jeff Landry (R) and Secretary of State Nancy Landry (R), challenging the state’s decision to suspend the 2026 congressional primary elections. www.democracydocket.com/cases/louisi...
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— Marc Elias (@marcelias.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 1:21 PM
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