Rid 2020 census of harmful citizenship question

When Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the Census Bureau will include a question about citizenship in the 2020 census, he made a decision that will have a negative impact on residents of Palm Beach County and in communities around this country.

This unnecessary question is invasive and will raise concerns about the confidentiality of personal information in the upcoming census report. This intrusive question will cause participation in the census to plummet and an inaccurate census report will have lasting consequences on all our Palm Beach County residents.

Our leaders rely on census data to allocate resources for public assistance programs including public safety planning and disaster response, education needs, hospitals, assistance for veterans and transportation. Our business developers use census data to make investment decisions that boost economic growth for Palm Beach County.

The League of Women Voters of Palm Beach County calls on Florida legislators and Palm Beach commissioners to speak out and oppose the citizenship question in the 2020 census. We must send a strong message to Congress to reverse this decision and remove the citizenship question from the census.

The stakes are too high to allow this unnecessary question to derail the count.