Last week the Phoenix City Council voted to sue the Trump administration in an effort to remove an immigration question from the 2020 Census. Specifically, the 2020 Census will ask which members of the responding household are United States citizens. While the question seems simple, if creates many complicated and emotional problems.

The Phoenix City Council’s concern is that the question will scare the city’s immigrant-rich population into not participating in the Census for fear of deportation or other actions that have been threatened (and, in many cases, carried out) by the Trump administration. Not only will this lead to an inaccurate accounting of Phoenix’s population, but the fear-induced decrease in population will also reduce Phoenix’s share of federal aid. Phoenix could lose more than $100 million, greatly affecting important programs like: Head Start/Early Head Start, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food and nutritional services, Medicaid, Community Development Block Grants (CSBG), Section 8 housing assistance, and law enforcement/homeland security.

Many Arizona and Phoenix politicians call the question an unnecessary burden on the city and state, noting the potential $100 million loss in federal funds. They are also calling the Trump administration’s move to identify non-citizens an unnecessary political move. Either way, the question is currently on the 20202 and we will wait to see.