Trump administration relents over census citizenship question
The Trump administration said on Tuesday it would begin printing forms for the 2020 US census without a controversial question asking about citizenship, following a key decision by the US supreme court last week blocking the proposal.
A Department of Justice spokeswoman confirmed that the question would not be included on the census, which is constitutionally mandated to take place every 10 years.
The commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, confirmed that the forms were being printed without the question, saying in a statement: “I respect the Supreme Court but strongly disagree with its ruling regarding my decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.”
“The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question,” Ross continued. “My focus, and that of the Bureau and the entire Department is to conduct a complete and accurate census.”
The announcement follows a US supreme court decision last week that temporarily blocked Trump’s administration from adding a citizenship question to the form, arguing that the government had failed to provide an acceptable justification for wanting the information.
The ruling in effect froze the administration’s plan to include the question but left unclear whether there would be enough time for the administration to provide the court with a better explanation that meets judicial approval. The administration had previously said a decision was needed by 30 June, though other officials have said it could be delayed until the fall.
Hours after the Trump administration’s announcement, Donald Trump said on Twitter: “A very sad time for America when the Supreme Court of the United States won’t allow a question of ‘Is this person a Citizen of the United States?’ to be asked on the #2020 Census!” He added that he had asked the commerce and justice departments “to do whatever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions, and this very important case, to a successful conclusion. USA! USA! USA!”
It was not immediately clear what course of action Trump had asked the departments to take, given that the printing process has already been initiated. As recently as Monday, Trump said he was considering the possibility of trying to delay the census forms being printed – a move that many experts said might not be legal.
“I think it is very important to find out if somebody is a citizen as opposed to an illegal,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “It is a big difference to me between being a citizen of the United States and being an illegal.”
Experts have said including a question on citizenship would lead to a less accurate accounting of the US population, in part because immigrants might not return their forms out of fear the information could be used against them.
The result could have far-reaching political ramifications: the census is used to determine how many congressional seats each state claims as well as how much federal funding states receive.
The decision is a major victory for Democrats who have argued that undercounting immigrants would skew the makeup of the House of Representatives in favor of Republicans. Undercounting immigrants, who tend to vote Democratic, would disproportionately hurt liberal states such as New York and California.
The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, said on Tuesday afternoon: “Today’s decision is a welcome development for our democracy. House Democrats will be vigilant to ensure a full, fair and accurate census.”
She continued: “We will continue to advance strong legislation to secure critical funding to guarantee maximum participation and inclusion so that every person in every community is counted.”
Democrats and civil rights groups challenged the Trump administration’s desire to include the question, arguing that the intent was to skew the results in favor of Republicans and deprive minority communities of federal funding.
The American Civil Liberties Union joined the New York Civil Liberties Union and the law firm Arnold & Porter to challenge the administration in court on behalf of immigrants rights’ groups.
Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement that the supreme court decision left the Trump administration no choice but to proceed without the question.
“Everyone in America counts in the census, and today’s decision means we all will,” Ho said.
