Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) teamed with Hamilton creator and leftist activist Lin-Manuel Miranda in a new ad calling on New Yorkers to participate in the 2020 Census, regardless of whether they are American citizens.
The ad, which was shared by Miranda via social media, explains that there is no citizenship question in the questionnaire and calls for “every New Yorker to stand up and be counted.”
“The census is a count of everyone in the United States regardless of your immigration status,” Ocasio-Cortez tells a group of students in the ad, including Miranda. “The census count is how our communities get billions of dollars for programs that we all rely on.”
Miranda then proceeds to join the Congresswoman in explaining to the class some of the questions that will be included in the census.
“The census asks how many people live in your home, do you rent or own, everyone’s names, how you’re all related, age, ethnicity and home phone number,” he says.
The ad forms part of an initiative first launched by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to encourage illegals to participate in this year’s census after the Trump administration proposed including a citizenship question within the survey.
“Your information is completely confidential, it cannot be shared by anyone,” adds Ocasio-Cortez. “It only comes once every ten years and 2020 is our chance to get it right.”
Because its historically low response rate, New York faces the possibility of losing billions in federal funding and congressional seats should their city’s 8.6 million residents be under-counted.
Last month, Miranda was tapped to serve as the honorary co-chair of the state’s Census Council by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, alongside the likes of Martin Luther King III and actress Lucy Liu. The council is designed to enhance coordination with local communities to promote participation.
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