On December 5, 2023, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and NALEO Educational Fund led a 127 organization sign-on letter to U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders urging them to oppose the inclusion of Section 559 of the House CJS Appropriations bill (H.R. 5893).
The section in question reads: �Sec. 559. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.�
According to the letter, in addition to seeking �to achieve a clearly unconstitutional purpose� � �clearly� violating �the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to apportion seats based on �the whole number of persons in each State�� � the letter also asserted that:
- �Section 559 would undermine 2030 Census accuracy in every state and every community by creating a climate of fear among all immigrants�; and
- �The Census Bureau cannot reliably determine the number of residents with unlawful status in each state without destroying the chance for an accurate census in any and all states.�
Rep. Grace Meng (D-CA) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) are also currently seeking fellow Members of Congress� signatures on a similar letter.
Meng had also tried to advance an amendment to the House CJS Appropriations bill to strike Section 559, but it was not ruled in order by the House Rules Committee. However, as explained in the Census Project�s November Update, the House failed to bring the bill to the floor on November 15, and it is not clear if the bill will ever be considered on the House floor, as opposed to being considered as part of an omnibus bill written in conference with the Senate.
Activist Groups Warn Against Citizenship and Apportionment Provisions in House CJS Appropriations Bill
On December 5, 2023, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC and NALEO Educational Fund led a 127 organization sign-on letter to U.S. House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders urging them to oppose the inclusion of Section 559 of the House CJS Appropriations bill (H.R. 5893).
The section in question reads: �Sec. 559. None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to allow the United States Census Bureau to include aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States in rendering apportionment determinations in subsequent decennial censuses.�
According to the letter, in addition to seeking �to achieve a clearly unconstitutional purpose� � �clearly� violating �the plain meaning of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to apportion seats based on �the whole number of persons in each State�� � the letter also asserted that:
- �Section 559 would undermine 2030 Census accuracy in every state and every community by creating a climate of fear among all immigrants�; and
- �The Census Bureau cannot reliably determine the number of residents with unlawful status in each state without destroying the chance for an accurate census in any and all states.�
Rep. Grace Meng (D-CA) and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) are also currently seeking fellow Members of Congress� signatures on a similar letter.
Meng had also tried to advance an amendment to the House CJS Appropriations bill to strike Section 559, but it was not ruled in order by the House Rules Committee. However, as explained in the Census Project�s November Update, the House failed to bring the bill to the floor on November 15, and it is not clear if the bill will ever be considered on the House floor, as opposed to being considered as part of an omnibus bill written in conference with the Senate.
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