2020 Census citizenship question could affect NJ towns that are already hard to count

New Jersey is home to large immigrant populations, and it features places where it's been historically difficult to count the people who live there, from densely packed cities to sparse rural areas.

Now local officials and immigrant activists from around the state and across the country are launching campaigns to get an accurate count of the population during the 2020 Census, a count that already faces obstacles including the Trump administration's efforts to add a question on citizenship to the survey. 

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday on the plan to add a citizenship question. That court fight prompted local leaders and advocates to organize a news conference outside Passaic City Hall on Monday to denounce the administration's efforts, which they contend would create barriers to an accurate count by scaring immigrants, no matter their legal status, away from participating.  

"This is a critical issue; the stakes are so high for us,'' said Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh. "We have to get it right. If we don't — what happens? We will have to wait 10 more years." 

Nearly a decade ago, the census counted 146,499 people living in Paterson. That was 3,501 short of a benchmark of 150,000 residents that could have made the city eligible for millions more in federal money to help fund infrastructure projects and services it provides its residents. 

In the past, hard-to-count populations have included rural communities, immigrants, young children and low-income people. 

New Jersey received an estimated $17.6 billion in federal assistance from the 16 largest programs that distribute funds based on the census in fiscal year 2015. 

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The Trump administration announced last year that it would add the citizenship question on the 2020 Census, saying it was necessary to accurately measure the voting-eligible population and the enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

A question about citizenship hasn't appeared on the census since the 1950s. In a statement announcing that the question would be included in 2020, the Commerce Department said the citizenship question will be the same as the one that is asked on the yearly American Community Survey. 

But the announcement quickly drew opponents and led to legal challenges in court. New Jersey joined 17 other states, led by New York, challenging the move to add the question about citizenship to the next census. The lower courts have sided with the states, which propelled the federal government to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

"We don't need to go back to pre-1950, 69 years later — that's not about making America great again,'' Sayegh said, referring to President Donald Trump's election slogan. "This is about making America enumerate again, as far as accuracy is concerned." 

Sayegh said he created Paterson's Complete Count Committee soon after being elected last year, saying he is taking the census seriously. He said that once a city reaches a population of 150,000 or more it is designated a Class 1 city, and with that comes more funding to accommodate the increase in population. 

"If we get an accurate count, funding will follow,'' he said. 

Passaic Business Administrator Rick Fernandez said Passaic officials are also in the process of forming their own census committee. In 2010, the federal government counted 69,906 people in Passaic.

The 2020 Census will be the first that will be conducted primarily using the Internet, with the goal that the technology will help save money in conducting the count by reducing the need to send census workers to households for in-person interviews. 

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the 2020 Census will cost $15.6 billion, $3 billion more than original estimates. 

Concerns about achieving an accurate count in New Jersey, which has a growing immigrant population, prompted the state's entire congressional delegation, led by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, to send a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin calling for a "robust state appropriation" to supplement the federal census efforts. 

"The census has historically failed to fully count minorities, immigrants, young children and those in low-income households,'' members wrote in the letter. "If these groups are not counted, they may not receive the services and resources that would have otherwise been allocated." 

 A bill introduced in the Senate and Assembly would provide $9 million for the state to supplement the Census Bureau's efforts for an accurate count. The proposal has been referred to the budget committees in the Assembly and the Senate.