When It Comes to the Census, the Damage Among Immigrants Is Already Done

Seven days a week in MacArthur Park, a vibrant Latino neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles, Pedro sells mangoes from a cart to passers-by. He has been a regular in the area for 16 years, earning about $800 a month and sending as much as half of that back to his family in Guatemala.
When federal government workers spread out across the country next year to count every United States resident for the census, Pedro, 50, will almost certainly not be included. He and his neighbors are increasingly wary of people they do not recognize, especially those in uniforms.
“We came here to work, just to work, and it is better to keep the door closed,” said Pedro, who did not want to give his full name because he is undocumented.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court stopped the Census Bureau, at least for now, from asking residents whether they are American citizens. The court called the Trump administration’s justification for the question “contrived” but left open the possibility that the question could be added in the future.

Critics have accused the administration of attempting to use the question to discourage immigrant communities from participating in the census. An undercount of these communities, which are often in Democratic constituencies, could tilt political power in Congress and state legislatures toward the Republican Party. An undercount, experts say, would also deeply disrupt federal funding for poverty and health care programs, transportation, school planning and even private sector investments in undercounted areas.