Photo Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Jeff Kubina
On Friday, the Supreme Court granted the federal government’s appeal and set oral argument for the week of April 22.
By Michael V. Cusenza
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday indicated that it would take up the case to decide whether a controversial citizenship question may be added to the 2020 Census.
In April 2018, then-State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman—leading a coalition of 18 attorneys general, six cities, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors—filed the original lawsuit to prevent the Trump administration from adding a question to the decennial Census that would ask respondents if they are U.S. citizens.
The suit emphasized the “irreparable harm” that will result from inaccuracies in the 2020 Census caused by demanding citizenship information. Hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds are directly tied to demographic information obtained through the census, including the Highway Trust Fund and other Department of Transportation grants, Child Care Development Grants, and Medicaid. Consequently, inaccurate counts can potentially deprive states of much-needed funds designed to protect low-income and vulnerable communities, the lawsuit argued.
In January, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the U.S. Commerce Department to remove the question from the 2020 Census.
“Today’s ruling is a win for New Yorkers and Americans across the country who believe in a fair and accurate count of the residents of our nation,” State Attorney General Tish James said on Jan. 15. “The attempts by the Trump administration to mandate a question about citizenship were not rooted in a desire to strengthen the census process and would only undermine our immigrant communities. Inciting fear in our residents is not only immoral, but also ill-conceived.”
Ten days after the district court decision, the federal government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. On Friday, the Court granted the appeal and set oral argument for the week of April 22, the Brennan Center for Justice noted.
“Adding a question about citizenship to the Census would incite widespread fear in immigrant communities and greatly impair the accuracy of population counts. Any underrepresentation of the real number of people living in states and localities could reduce representation in Congress and funding for New York and other states and localities across the country. This would have far-reaching and long-lasting effects and is antithetical to the purpose of the Census,” James said on Friday. “The district court recognized these facts in ruling in favor of our challenge and we look forward to seeing the Trump administration in court once again.”
Over the past year, several elected New York officials teed off on President Donald Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for the decision to add such a question to the Census.
“A fair and accurate 2020 count is constitutionally mandated to ensure political power and resources remain with the people – where they belong,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “President Trump’s decision puts our amazing city of immigrants in jeopardy and threatens federal funding for infrastructure, health care and public safety in New York.”
Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) called the decision “deeply troubling and reckless.”
