Trump and America – Immigration

The National Census

Trump and his administration seem to cause chaos where ever its shadow reaches.  That, of course, could just be a reflection of how I feel about this embattled president.   However, just how is it possible for even Trump to cause confusion about the future of the census?  The census first census was in the late 18th century and it has been held every 10 years from 1902.  You would have thought that, by now, it would almost run itself.  Individuals change, people are born and they die, but the process is the same, surely?

One of the problems this time around is the fall out of the trump administration’s culling of people thought to be “not one of us” when they took over.  There is no permanent director at the bureaux.  John Thompson jumped ship in early 2017.  More than a year later Trump’s nominee has not yet been confirmed.  The deputy director was to be Thomas Brunell.  But Trump’s choice withdrew after his lack of experience and his views on legislative redistricting were criticised.  (UK readers think Gerrymandering, or Dame Shirley Porter – you get the idea).

Computerisation

So, no permanent leader or deputy, what else could be going wrong?  Someone has decided that, in this digital age, that the census should be computerised.  That is bound to be a good idea, quicker, probably cheaper and no pieces of paper to get lost.  In any other country than one that still has to use paper ballots in some of its elections because of the lack of connectivity it would be a great idea.  The USA has a situation where 30% of Latinos, African- Americans and some rural areas do not have a broadband connection.   (more details HERE) It is also hard to persuade them to go to a centre to register their details.  Even harder to persuade anybody that their details will be safe from hackers.

Apparently Congress does not care about these issues.  They  even cancelled 2 of the 3 full field tests.  Really, what could go wrong?

According to two former Census Bureaux Directors quite a lot.  Even before the major change to the way the census is undertaken they were warning in the Washington Post (August 2017) that the census was “Under threat by uncertain funding”

Question 11

This is a new question for the census.  It asks “Is this person a citizen of the United States?”  There are obvious implications.  If someone is not a citizen would they want to tell the authorities that when they know Trump’s opinions?  Trump could shout from the roof tops that the information is blind, but who would believe him?  The trouble is that if the Trump administration asks a question that they suspect people will refuse to answer and so not complete the census then the census becomes something else.  According to the constitution of the USA the census is an “actual enumeration”   not a sample, not a guestimate, not a survey it is meant to be a full attempt to count as many of the country’s residents as possible.

According to the New York Times;  “Authorizing the first census in 1790, Congress mandated a count of “inhabitants.” Boundaries were porous, and the country was founded on the principle that anyone could move here. “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions,” George Washington wrote in an open letter to recent arrivals from Ireland in 1783. Newcomers haven’t always been made to feel welcome since then, but the census has continued to reflect the recognition that they are here.”   Until now.

Tags: america, Politics, trump, USA