Despite Democrats' Fearmongering, There’s a Long Precedent for the Citizenship Question

Townhall.com ^ | July 17, 2019 | Jim Renacci

[Kaslin]

The hard left in America will stop at nothing to reshuffle all that we know to be true about America and the values we hold dear. The Betsy Ross flag, so celebrated as a symbol of freedom by Americans, is now racist.  Our brave and overworked agents on the southern border aren’t honored for saving the lives of men, women and children abandoned by human smugglers, but are accused of running ‘concentration camps.’  And now the most basic part of our national identity – citizenship – is under attack.

The evidence is mounting that Democrats want to reshape what “American” means.  They blind themselves to the many other countries that ask about citizenship, including Canada, Germany, Ireland and Mexico.  Even the United Nations recommends the practice.  But extremists want Americans to have open borders, force us to feel embarrassed of our history and have a president that goes on a global apology tour.

We tried that with Barack Obama.  No more.  Never again.

Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates have shown no shame in politicizing the decennial census.  They have claimed that asking about citizenship will scare those who may be here illegally from participating, giving Republicans an advantage in Congressional districts.  But if anyone is scaring people into not participating, it’s the Democrats. 

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said President Trump wants to “make America white again.”  Senator Kamala Harris tweeted that adding the citizenship question was an attempt to “weaponize” the census. Senator Cory Booker introduced a bill that would prohibit the government from asking about citizenship for districting purposes.  He claims that redistricting based on citizenship data will push communities of color “further into the shadows.”

This rhetoric is dangerous and inaccurate.  It suggests that the census is only a tool to document those here illegally.  But the Census is not about immigration enforcement.  It is not, nor has ever been, a method for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct mass deportations.  It is about you being here and the government needing to know in order to have an accurate count.

And there is a long precedent for asking census respondents about their citizenship.  For the majority of the 20^th century, the question has appeared in some form on census materials.  The 2010 Census was the first to forego the question since 1960.

The scare tactics of Democratic leaders and would-be presidents do nothing but create racial tension and further divide our country.  The ‘us versus them’ strategy they have employed has propagated a growing wave of anti-American sentiment that is both alarming and tragic.  But maybe that’s what the Democrats want: a country that is divided and subdivided. Unity is their enemy, but it is our goal.

There is nothing nefarious about collecting basic population data as required by the U.S. Constitution. Asking about a person’s citizenship has served a legitimate query for decades.  Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we’ll still get this data, but it will have to be cobbled together from government data already available.

Inquiring about citizenship isn’t unconstitutional and shouldn’t be controversial.  Countries all over the world gather this data with no conflict. There’s no reason why the United States should be any different. We only get one shot to count the population every 10 years and the results have far-reaching implications.  

President Trump is once again standing up for our country by using the authority we have entrusted him with to make sure we get it right in spite of what liberals and their microphones in the mainstream media seek to lead people to believe.

[rjsimmon]

The form should also be in American English ONLY.

[EagleUSA]

The only thing that the RATS are afraid of is losing the stream of ILLEGALS flowing into the voting base of America. Their whole agenda of power and control is based on ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION.

Look at California — a demographically destroyed, one party state. This example is what it is all about.

[McGavin999]

Racial tensions and divides is exactly what the Dems want.

[Nuke From Orbit]

I remember something my dad told me back in the early 80’s. The Group La Raza was going for this type of approach to vote out those that opposed them. I think it is a stark reminder that these leftist/Marxists are working from the same source and its in our schools, work places and now the government and I believe he was not only right he made sure I Was aware of these types and their politics. That was another thing he never called it politics it was an ideology and it was not compatible with the US Constitution.

[Kaslin]

My native language is German. When my husband brought me over from Germany where he had come to in December 1960 with his company from Fort Knox, Ky during the Berlin crisis. He was stationed about 15 km from my hometown where we met on May 13, 1962.

I could speak very little English that I learned in school and which was the Oxford English. I had lost interest in it, btw. Anyway when we dated he took me on post where he was stationed to the movie and also to parties of his army buddies. This continued after we got married he made me answer the letters from his mother and sisters. I remember having the German-English dictionary next to me and answering the letters as best as I could.

By the time we came over, which was on September 25, 1966 I was able to read, speak and write in English.

For a while I had to translate in my head from German to English or vise versa. After a while it wasn't necessary anymore.

I still have a slight German accent which I can not get rid of. Our son ad daughter don't notice it though, but other people do. Although I was once "accused" to be from Great Britain, or even Australia to which I replied that I had never been there

[mosesdapoet]

Back President Trump’s effort to make certain the census form contains the citizenship question in it and no reference to race. But to the country of where the respondent is a citizen of, if not an American citizen.
TIME TO END HYPHENATING AMERICANS

One thing the Mexican Constitution has that we should consider doing.Mexico has no hyphenated Mexicans. They prohibit any reference to race when they conduct a census or issue any means of identification, Where a photo id is not available physical description is needed skin color yes but not by race but by one nationality Mexican.

By doing this Mexico has avoided “balkanizing”, creating fractional disputes in areas where a given group in one of its states is a majority or a minority. Plus it could play a significant part in shutting down the political playing off racial divisions between Americans by the Democrats..By doing this Mexico has avoided “balkanizing”, creating fractional disputes in areas where a given group in one of its states is a majority or a minority. Plus if we do it it would play a significant part in shutting the political playing off racial divisions down.

[EagleUSA]

Another thing Mexico does right is the prohibition of WELFARE.

[Harpotoo]

Yeah like the 2000 census which had the question in it:-)

[pgkdan]

The real question folks should be asking is “Why did obama have the citizenship question removed from the Census in 2010?”