March 29, 2018

Trump’s Plan to Rig the Census, Explained

This video lays out the incredibly high stakes for the 2020 census.

Budget cuts. Major cybersecurity risks. No permanent leadership. And now a question about US citizenship that could massively depress responses from immigrants. The 2020 census is facing a perfect storm of problems.

The last census, in 2010, failed to count 1.5 million people of color, while overcounting white Americans. That undercount of minorities and immigrants could get much worse under President Donald Trump and shift economic and political power to whiter and more Republican areas.

The addition of the citizenship question on Monday night sparked an immediately outcry from Democratic state officials and civil rights groups. California became the first state to sue the Trump administration over the question, and at least 12 states have pledged to follow suit. The NAACP also filed suit on Wednesday.

The stakes for democracy could not be higher. As I explain in this video, “If Republicans rig the census, there are no do-overs.” Give it a watch, and then read my big feature story on the census, “Hidden Figures: How Donald Trump Is Rigging the Census,” which will appear in the next issue of the magazine.

Video produced by Mark Helenowski and James West

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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