NEW YORK (AP) — A coalition of state attorneys general is urging the federal Department of Commerce to not add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census, saying it could lower participation among immigrants and cause a population undercount.
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a letter sent Monday to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The letter said adding the question "would fatally undermine the accuracy" of the 2020 count.
They were joined by Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. The governor of Colorado also signed on.
There was no immediate comment from the Department of Commerce.