Thread by @hansilowang

NEW: Commerce Dept has ended recently announced #2020Census partnership with the largest Muslim civil rights & advocacy organization in the U.S. -- the Council on American-Islamic Relations -- @CAIRNational's government affairs director, @RobertSMcCaw, confirms to @NPR.

2. @uscensusbureau forms partnership with community groups around the country because as "trusted voices," they "play a key role in raising awareness that the #2020Census is easy, safe, and important," according to official 2020 census website👇
2020census.gov/en/partners.ht…

3. On Aug. 28, @CAIRNational announced a formal partnership with @uscensusbureau to promote #2020Census participation among American Muslims👇
cair.com/cair_announces…

4. The next day, Robert McCaw says CAIR found out its #2020Census partnership had ended by watching Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" broadcast this statement from a Commerce Dept spokesperson👇

5. "We're unsure of the Department of Commerce's reasoning but realize that the American Muslim community has faced Islamophobic smears for years and that could have been a factor," says Robert McCaw, who adds Census Bureau approached CAIR about #2020Census partnership months ago

6. I've reached out for comment from the @CommerceGov Department & @uscensusbureau -- no replies yet.

7. Robert McCaw says the Commerce Department's decision to end this #2020Census partnership "has no impact on CAIR's ongoing work to promote Muslim participation in the 2020 census and to ensure a complete count of our community."