Amid the recent Democratic mayoral primary, which focused heavily on promises of free services and anti-ICE sentiments, New York City is facing a troubling trend: a significant exodus of residents. Between 2023 and 2024, the city reportedly lost about 327,000 people, as highlighted by Andrew Cuomo during a rally in Queens. This represents a 3.7% drop, the highest decline among major cities in the U.S.
You’d think the response would be to tackle pressing issues like high taxes or transit safety, but progressives appear more concerned with another issue—the potential loss of more congressional seats due to dwindling population counts.
Rather than focusing on the reasons driving high-income residents to states like Florida, their aim seems to be ensuring that certain demographics remain underrepresented. This includes noncitizens, particularly undocumented immigrants, who might avoid participating in census surveys due to fear of ICE.
There’s a significant worry about proposed legislation in the House of Representatives that would require the census to inquire about citizenship status.
A recent article in the New York Times, acting almost like a rallying cry, discussed the collective efforts of various elected officials and activists in New York City to combat this issue.
The underlying concern is clear: “The threat from the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress could lead to the exclusion of non-citizens, which threatens to skew the demographic representation in the city.”
Julie Mennon, a council member from the Lower East Side, is advocating for a city office to boost local participation in the decennial census.
This upcoming July 4th weekend brings forth an alternative approach—encouraging legal immigrants to gain citizenship to ensure they’re counted. Ironically, liberal discourse seems to steer clear of this idea.
The Democratic agenda appears more about protecting population numbers to maintain influence than genuinely assisting residents in gaining their voting rights, especially for leaders like Hakeem Jeffries and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Voter turnout has been alarmingly low, largely because many noncitizens are ineligible to vote, creating a modern equivalent of what historical England termed a “rotten borough.” Each of the 435 council districts requires an approximate balance of residents—about 740,000 each—but eligible voting populations can vary significantly. Thus, areas with high immigrant populations might see smaller voting rolls. For instance, Jeffries’ Brooklyn constituency is home to around 267,000 foreign-born residents.
It’s hard to determine the exact number of citizens, yet it’s notable that Jeffries was re-elected in 2024 with only 168,000 votes, while Ocasio-Cortez required 132,000 to win, in a district with a substantial immigrant presence.
For comparison, House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to secure 262,000 votes in a district with only 22,000 immigrants.
This disparity poses issues for Democrats, allowing them to overlook the perspectives of about 40% of constituents in AOC’s district. The reality of Hispanic immigrant support for democratic socialism is uncertain and, frankly, not something she seems particularly concerned about.
If progressives truly want to alleviate residents’ anxieties about answering questions regarding citizenship and broader census inclusion, an evident and constructive strategy exists—promote pathways to citizenship.
New York City is home to about 3.1 million immigrants, as per the mayor’s Immigration Office. While the number of naturalized citizens is unclear, the process to become a legal citizen has been well-established for years.
Pragmatic Democrats might actually find this favorable. It encourages a basic proficiency in English—necessary for understanding the citizenship test, which is only available in that language. Becoming a U.S. citizen can also aid immigrants in improving their financial circumstances.
The citizenship test itself is relatively simple, consisting of 10 questions selected from a larger pool, covering essential knowledge about U.S. governance and history.
This July 4th, let’s focus on guiding immigrants through the citizenship process so they can truly participate in government.
