Supreme Court Finds that Wilbur Ross Lied To Put Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census
This morning, the Supreme Court what we and our clients have long known: that Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross provided a false reason for his decision to add a citizenship question to the Decennial Census. The court explained that the Trump administration鈥檚 stated reason for adding a citizenship question鈥攅nforcement of the Voting Rights Act鈥攚as 鈥渃ontrived.鈥� The justices could not 鈥渋gnore the disconnect between the decision made and the explanation given.鈥� Bottom-line, this decision prevents addition of the citizenship question to the 2020 Census based on the administration鈥檚 lies.
As we explained in our complaint and as the district court鈥檚 decision found, Secretary Ross 鈥渨as determined to reinstate a citizenship question from the time he entered office.鈥� He adopted the Voting Rights Act as the reason 鈥渓ate in the process鈥� after already having 鈥渕ade up his mind鈥� to add a citizenship question for other, unstated reasons. Ultimately, 鈥渢he evidence tells a story that does not match the explanation the Secretary gave for his decision.鈥� In other words, the Secretary鈥檚 decision was a solution in search of a problem.
The implications for this decision are huge for immigrants and people of color across the county whose census participation the administration sought to suppress with this question. The ruling affirms that our clients鈥攖he New York Immigration Coalition, Make the Road New York, CASA, and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee鈥攚ould be injured by the addition of this question. Striking this question will remove a major barrier to allowing a full count of all people residing in the United States and prevent the use of the census as a political weapon to harm the representation and funding interests of affected communities.
This decision also helps affirm important good-government principles. As the court explained, federal agencies must 鈥渙ffer genuine justifications for important decisions, reasons that can be scrutinized by courts and the interested public.鈥� While the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision has its flaws鈥攕uch as refusing to recognize the terribly flawed process in seeking to add this question and Secretary Ross鈥檚 ignoring of better alternatives鈥攊t does recognize that the public deserves 鈥渟omething better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case.鈥�
We deserve a 2020 census that seeks to count all of us, rather than using political tools to target communities of color and engage in political manipulation
