A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday set aside Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said 18 U.S. states, 15 cities and civil rights groups that opposed the question proved it was more likely than not that they would be harmed if it were added.
The judge also said Ross’s actions violated federal law, despite a lack of proof that he was motivated by discriminatory intent in proposing the question.
Ross proposed reinstating the citizenship question last March 26, ostensibly at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice, to better police potential voter discrimination.
Critics, however, said the question was intended to frighten immigrants into not being counted.
They said this would cost their communities, including many that lean Democratic, political representation, as well as billions of dollars of federal aid.
Census forms to be printed soon
Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal quickly hailed Tuesday’s ruling on social media. Merkely said that the citizenship question “has no business in the 2020Census.”
The Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Furman ruled after a nonjury trial that ended in November. The Supreme Court rejected a bid by the Trump administration to halt the trial, though it blocked the deposition of Ross.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Feb. 19 about the scope of evidence heard at the New York trial, though no on the legitimacy of the citizenship question itself.
Final census forms are due to be printed by May 2019.
There has not been a census question about citizenship status since 1950. The plaintiffs have said that in recent decades Census Bureau officials have opposed adding a citizenship question because of the risk of driving down response rates and undercounting the U.S. population.
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census every 10 years.
Big news. This citizenship question brings together <a href=”https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@realDonaldTrump</a>’s anti-immigrant agenda and his attempts to undermine representative democracy and has no business in the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/2020Census?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#2020Census</a>. <a href=”https://t.co/XXAgsjEDdz”>https://t.co/XXAgsjEDdz</a>
—@SenJeffMerkley