Trump's move to weaponize the 2020 Census against immigrant communities by adding a citizenship question is also unconstitutional says Wisconsin Lt. Governor.

MADISON — Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes issued the following statement Thursday on the Trump administration’s memorandum that calls for excluding undocumented immigrants when determining congressional representation following the 2020 Census.

“Not only is this move to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census racist and xenophobic, but it is also unconstitutional. The Constitution makes it clear that the purpose of the census is to count every person, not just those the Trump administration deems worthy of being counted.

“President Trump already tried to weaponize the 2020 Census against immigrant communities by adding a citizenship question, and the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down. Now he’s attempting to erase immigrant communities from the picture again and disrupt the 2020 Census half-way through the process.

“Citizenship documents do not define whether or not someone is worthy of respect, civil rights, and equal representation in our democracy, so they cannot define whether they are counted. As integral members of our communities and our state, immigrants should be afforded the dignity and justice they deserve. Wisconsin’s Complete Count Committee has been working hard to ensure our 2020 Census counts everybody—especially hard to count populations like children, communities of color, and undocumented people. We will continue this work in the face of this unlawful decision, and I look forward to seeing this action challenged in the courts.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/gb-vote-47-lines2-s5.jpgWisconsin Conservation Voters applauds the Green Bay Common Council for getting a $1 million grant to take concrete steps to hold safe elections during the pandemic.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/schools-reopening-2020-cnn-s5.jpgMoney will help school districts impacted by COVID-19 make decisions about how students will learn in the upcoming school year.

We will be dealing with a coronavirus economy for probably 12 to 18 months says Palzewicz, while Republicans hope there's enough people who want to declare this pandemic is not real. Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald don't have a plan.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/voting-2020-538-s5.jpgThe People’s Maps Commission has an important role in re-drawing Wisconsin’s electoral maps and fixing our broken partisan gerrymandering system. State residents have until July 31st to apply to be a member.

Governor’s personal assistant, 25, dies in a tubing accident. His wit, enthusiasm, grace, and humility will be missed.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/unemployment-virus-outbreak-dp-s5.jpgBills would end one-week waiting period, concept of substantial fault, and allow people in occupational training and with disabilities to receive benefits.

Record layoffs during pandemic is revealing challenges within the Wisconsin unemployment system that must be fixed.

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/unemployment-wi-wkow-s5.jpgBills would roll back barriers to Unemployment Insurance (UI) imposed during decade of misguided anti-worker legislation.

People learn more about how the climate crisis is impacting people across the state and to hear about potential solutions.

MADISON - On Wednesday evening, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes hosted the fifth and final listening session of the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change via video teleconference.

The task force held the virtual listening sessions in order to learn more about how the climate crisis is impacting people across the state and to hear about potential solutions the state should adopt. Over a thousand Wisconsinites from Superior to Sturgeon Bay to Mazomanie joined Lt. Gov. Barnes and task force members virtually.

“I’m incredibly grateful to the people who took time out of their days to join us for these listening sessions and shape the work of this task force,” said Lt. Gov. Barnes. “People from every corner of the state came forward to share personal stories and make their voices heard, and we’re committed to ensuring their concerns drive our climate solutions.”

The five listening sessions also included expert presentations from organizations and local government leaders working on sustainability, conservation, environmental justice, and renewable energy. Some of the presenters included Deneine C. Powell, Executive Director of Groundwork Milwaukee, Mayor Gordon Ringberg of the City of Bayfield, and Patrick Pelky from the Oneida Nation.

Those who could not attend the virtual listening sessions are encouraged to submit comments, recommendations, and concerns for the task force’s consideration on the task force’s website, ClimateChange.wi.gov. The deadline to submit comments is July 31, 2020.