On Thursday, in an almost unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question being included in the 2020 census. The decision hands a defeat to the Trump Administration, which argued the question must be included to enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Court called B.S. on that rationale.
From the Court’s majority opinion: “We do not hold that the agency decision here was substantively invalid. But agencies must pursue their goals reasonably. Reasoned decisionmaking under the Administrative Procedure Act calls for an explanation for agency action. What was provided here was more of a distraction.”
There is the possibility the Administration will be able to offer a better rationale for its position, leaving the door open to the question being revisited.
Texas’ largest county, Harris, wrote a legal brief in April opposing the Administration’s position.
“Adding a citizenship question to the short-form Census is about intimidating people so that their communities have less representation,” Susan Hays, an attorney who drafted the brief, told The Texas Signal at the time. “The Administration knows people will drop off – especially undocumented and legal immigrants in the Hispanic community.”
About 6 million Hispanics would not have been counted in 2020 Census if the citizenship question was added, according to Harvard University’s Shorenstein Center.
From Japan Trump fired off a tweet, seeking a delay in conducting the Census.
Critics have long said the case is a political engineering job to give Democrats fewer seats in the House, redounding to the GOP’s benefit.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
