Census citizenship question blocked by Supreme Court: Trump seeks 2020 Census delay

The Supreme Court on Thursday, June 27, rejected Trump administration’s stated reason for adding a question on citizenship to the census

WASHINGTON (TIP): In a setback for the Trump administration, the Supreme Court on Thursday, June 27,  rejected its stated reason for adding a question on citizenship to the census, leaving in doubt whether the question would appear on the census forms sent to every household in the nation next year., says New York Times.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., writing for the majority, said the explanation offered by the Trump administration for adding the question “appears to have been contrived.” But he left open the possibility that it could provide an adequate answer.

Executive branch officials must “offer genuine justifications for important decisions, reasons that can be scrutinized by courts and the interested public,” the chief justice wrote. “Accepting contrived reasons would defeat the purpose of the enterprise. If judicial review is to be more than an empty ritual, it must demand something better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case.”

The practical impact of the decision was not immediately clear. While the question is barred for now, it is at least possible that the administration will be able to offer adequate justifications for it. But time is short, as the census forms must be printed soon.

President Trump commented on Twitter, writing that he had “asked the lawyers if they can delay the Census, no matter how long, until the United States Supreme Court is given additional information from which it can make a final and decisive decision on this very critical matter.”

“We do not hold that the agency decision here was substantively invalid,” the chief justice wrote. “But agencies must pursue their goals reasonably. Reasoned decision-making under the Administrative Procedure Act calls for an explanation for agency action. What was provided here was more of a distraction.”

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined the key part of the chief justice’s opinion.

In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas said the majority had done something extraordinary. “For the first time ever,” he wrote, “the court invalidates an agency action solely because it questions the sincerity of the agency’s otherwise adequate rationale.”

Justices Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh joined Justice Thomas’s partial dissent.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. filed his own partial dissent.

“To put the point bluntly,” he wrote, “the federal judiciary has no authority to stick its nose into the question whether it is good policy to include a citizenship question on the census or whether the reasons given by Secretary Ross for that decision were his only reasons or his real reasons.”

Government experts predicted that asking the question would cause many immigrants to refuse to participate in the census, leading to an undercount of about 6.5 million people. That could reduce Democratic representation when congressional districts are allocated in 2021 and affect how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal spending are distributed.

Long Island Advocates React to Supreme Court Decision on the Citizenship Question

MELVILLE,NY . Government and nonprofit leaders gathered at the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island’s office , June 27,  in response to the Supreme Court ruling that the explanation for inclusion of the Census question was inadequate.

The decision will now be handed back down to the lower courts siting sufficient reason for concern about why the Department of Commerce wanted to add the question, and insufficient explanation.

“While a partial and temporary victory- this is still a win. In these times in which we are living where there is assault after assault on our neighbors- every win- every moment, when humanity is reaffirmed, must be recognized.” Said Rebecca Sanin, President/CEO of the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island.

“I welcome the news that all communities on Long Island will receive their fair share from the Federal Government and we must make sure that everyone is counted on Long Island.” Said New York State Senator Monica Martinez.

“This is a significant win for making sure every person in Nassau County can be counted,” said Nassau County Comptroller Jack Schnirman. “We must keep up the pressure on Washington so that we have a fair and accurate count and get the resources our communities deserve. The stakes are too high for the entire region.”

There are still significant challenges to ensuring that Long Island has a complete and accurate count in the 2020 Census. From anti-immigrant rhetoric to raids, to suburban sprawl, there is a lot to overcome less than a year out from the Census. To address these significant challenges, Nassau & Suffolk Complete Count Committees have been convening community leaders across the Island to understand the hurdles ahead, pool resources and knowledge bases, and devise strategies we can utilize to achieve a Complete Count in 2020.

“Let us all come together today and be ambassadors of the Census,” said, Rebecca Sanin, President/CEO of the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island. “Let us use this momentary victory as a call to action- to start speaking to everyone we encounter about the need to be counted, about how every human counts, and let’s create a sustainable, inclusive and hopeful future for all Long Islanders.”

Census Facts:

  • An undercount of more than .6 percent, could result in New York losing representation in Washington.
  • 800 billion dollars is allocated based on Census data in this country.
  • Suffolk & Nassau County are the fourth and fifth hardest to count counties in all of New York State.
  • Over 800,000 people on Long Island live in hard to count areas.
  • $73 billion is allocated from 55 spending programs based on the Census-including Medicaid, school funding, Headstart, WIC, school breakfast, Title 1 and special education.

BIG WIN! The Citizenship Question will NOT be added to the 2020 Census: SALDEF

WASHINGTON: The Supreme Court ruled that the Citizenship Question will not be added to the census, “‘saying that the administration’s explanation for adding it is insufficient’”. The unprecedented citizenship question has now been put on halt until further notice. While the U.S. Census Bureau is bound by Title 13 of the United States Code, prohibiting the information on the census from being disclosed. Inclusion of a citizenship question in the future has the potential to spark fear in immigrant communities.

SALDEF Executive Director Kiran Kaur Gill said, “we are thrilled by the win today at the Supreme court and hope that all will now feel safe in participating in the Census. I encourage all individuals to take part in the 2020 Census to ensure a complete representation of the Sikh community and all communities.”

The reinstatement of the citizenship question was introduced by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in March 2018. Since then, Ross has been accused of trying to depress minority responses for political purposes. The citizen question sparked fear by immigrant groups of targeted harassment including deportation, that would have resulted in an undercount of the actual number of people living in a community. The count is used to allocate federal funding for communities, and resources such as food stamps, public schooling, and assistance programs. Giving a distorted count to the Census Bureau may leave immigrant communities with insufficient federal resources.

The Asian Americans Advancing Justice group recognizes that along with federal funding, the Census data allocates the number of representatives communities will receive. The data provides communities an opportunity to “engage their elected officials in advocating for support and solutions for their community’s needs.” With distorted Census data, the voices of and concerns of immigrant communities will be suppressed. Lastly, the census data is used for redistricting and not giving immigrant communities substantial political power due to inaccurate Census data may falsify the outcomes of state-level elections.

Meanwhile, Trump is asking his lawyers whether Census can be delayed for the Citizenship question.

Washington Post  says President Trump said Thursday, June 27,  that he is seeking to delay the constitutionally mandated census to give administration officials time to come up with a better explanation for why it should include a citizenship question.

Trump’s announcement, in tweets sent from Japan, came hours after the Supreme Court put on hold his administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, saying it had provided a “contrived” reason for wanting the information. He said  census would be ‘meaningless’ without citizenship question.

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