Pelosi Implores Queens Immigrants To Take Part In 2020 Census

ELMHURST, QUEENS — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi implored immigrants in Queens to participate in the 2020 Census during a community discussion in Elmhurst Monday about federal immigration policy.

"If you’re not counted, the community is under-served," Pelosi said during the event at Elmhurst Hospital Center.

The Trump administration announced plans last year to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, which experts found could result in an undercount of millions of Hispanic Americans due to concerns about immigration enforcement.

More than 454,000 Hispanics in New York would be undercounted, the Washington Post reported.

The U.S. Supreme Court hasn't yet ruled on whether the question is constitutional. But Pelosi noted that the Census Bureau is prohibited by U.S. law from sharing identifiable information with law enforcement.

Pelosi joined U.S. Rep. Grace Meng and local immigrant service providers in Queens to tout House Democrats’ recently-passed immigration bill, the American Dream and Promise Act, and advise immigrants on how to prepare for potential deportation raids.

Pelosi advised immigrants to ask ICE officers who come to their home if they have a search warrant from a judge. "Unless they have a warrant, they have no business coming into your home to search," she said.

New York Immigrant Coalition director Steve Choi encouraged immigrants to reach out to community organizations like his own for multi-lingual resources, including the Office for New Americans' service hotline at 1-800-566-7636.

"Queens is the most diverse place in the nation with immigrants from across the globe calling our borough home," Meng said. "Fixing our broken immigration system is vital to improving the lives and aspirations of the large immigrant population that resides here."

Very engaging conversation with @RepGraceMeng today on how we can work to support America’s immigrant communities. Grateful to the advocates who joined us to discuss efforts to support immigrant communities from Trump’s appalling attacks. #ProtectTheDream #FamiliesBelongTogether pic.twitter.com/OvZneQLZAf
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) June 24, 2019