White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders lied about the history of the citizenship question on the Census to hide Trump’s latest line of attack on immigrants.
Video:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders flat out lies about the history of the citizenship question on the Census. pic.twitter.com/j2MFk1Nx76
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 27, 2018
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Sanders said, “This is a question that’s been included in every census since 1965 with the exception of 2010 when it was removed. This is — we’ve contained this question that’s provided data that’s necessary for the department of justice to protect voters and specifically, to help us better comply with the voting rights act, which is something that is important and a part of this process. And again, this is something that has been part of the census for decades and something that the Department of Commerce felt strongly needed to be included again.”
Sarah Huckabee Sanders was insinuating that Obama had the question removed in 2010, but the citizenship question had stopped being asked decades before Obama became president.
According to The New York Times, “The decennial census generally included a citizenship inquiry for more than 100 years through 1950, according to the Commerce Department.”
The question hasn’t been asked since 1950. Trump is trying to rig the Census to benefit Republicans and attack immigrants. The question’s removal had nothing to do with Obama, but the reason why the White House wants the question back in has everything to do with criminalizing immigrants.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
