For Immediate Release
April 10, 2019

Akron, OH –  Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA, Inc.) celebrated a recent trial court decision in favor of the plaintiffs – including ASIA, Inc. – who challenged the Trump administration’s addition of a citizenship question to the upcoming census. ASIA, Inc. has participated in the litigation over the past year as part of its work advocating for a complete and inclusive census.

On April 5, 2019, Federal District Court Judge George Hazel ruled in favor of the plaintiffs — two coalitions of nonprofits that serve immigrant and refugee communities. Judge Hazel found that the manner in which the administration added the question violates the Administrative Procedure Act. He further found that because the question will likely result in significant numbers of immigrants and refugees refusing to respond to the census, the question violates the constitutional requirement that the census provides an “actual enumeration” of the population. The judge concluded that, “The unreasonableness of Defendants’ addition of a citizenship question to the Census is underscored by the lack of any genuine need for the citizenship question, the woefully deficient process that led to it, the mysterious and potentially improper political considerations that motivated the decision and the clear pretext offered to the public.”

“As the leading health and social services organization for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the state of Ohio, our priority is to protect the rights of our AAPI members,” said Elaine Tso, Interim Co-CEO of ASIA, Inc. “The introduction of the citizenship question has raised concerns that members of the AAPI community may feel at risk if they participate in the Census. We applaud Judge Hazel’s decision and thank our coalition partners and our legal team for their hard work in bringing about this result.”

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