Today a U.S. House Committee is holding a hearing to get a progress report on the 2020 census.
If the Trump administration gets its way, the next census will have something that hasn't been on a census in 70 years: a question about your citizenship status.
That has critics on high alert, fearing the question will keep non-citizens and even legal immigrants from responding to the census.
They say an inaccurate head-count is bad for their communities, and for Michigan.
Hassan Jaber, executive director and CEO of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), located in Dearborn, joined Stateside to talk about how the new question on the 2020 census could deter participation.
Jaber discusses the impact census data has on Michigan's state budget, and how he fears a low participation rate will fair poorly for Michigan residents.
Listen above to hear why the question of citizenship is being added to the census, how the question could impact our state budget, and the ways in which immigrant communities may be affected.
This story was originally broadcast on May 8, 2018.
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