“They are trying to erase us from this country.”
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts:
Bruna Bouhid | bruna@unitedwedream.org | 202.850.0812
Sheridan Aguirre | sheridan@unitedwedream.org | 202.793.2267
Texas: Chris Valdez | chris@unitedwedream.org | 713.352.8197
Washington, DC – The Commerce Department announced they will question the citizenship status of US residents, for the first time in 70 years.
In response, Cristina Jimenez, Executive Director at United We Dream, said the following:
“Trump and Republicans are doing everything they can to push people of color away from the ballot box through voter suppression, put us into jails and detention camps and kick us out of the country. Now they are taking aim at the census as another way to erase us.
“All people must reject this hostile and racist move by the Trump administration to push people of color away from the census.
“This move is a blatant attempt to rig the books to benefit Republican politicians by undercounting immigrants. Questioning the citizenship of US residents on the census will keep many from filling out the census. Because of Trump’s track record, many fear that Trump’s deportation agents may use the data to hunt down our people and put us in detention camps.
“The immigrant youth of United We Dream are continuing to organize in their communities to ensure that we are counted and that every voice, regardless of immigration status, in this country is heard. ”
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United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the nation, a powerful network made up of over 400,000 members and 48 affiliate organizations across 26 states. UWD’s vision is to build a multi-racial, multi-ethnic movement of young people who organize and advocate at the local and national levels for the dignity and justice of immigrants and communities of color in the United States.