Tag: 2020 census

House gets its say as Supreme Court takes up census citizenship question

Stakes are high as decision could affect how many House seats each state gets

The House gets a relatively rare chance to directly address the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a legal showdown about whether the Trump administration can add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

The case is one of the most significant for members of Congress during the current Supreme Court term. The census results determine how many House seats each state gets and affect how states redraw congressional districts. The results are also used to distribute billions of dollars from federal programs that are based on population count to state and local governments.

The House cited those reasons when it asked for time during oral argument. The lawmakers plan to argue that it is up to Congress to ensure an accurate count, and a federal law called the Census Act limits the discretion of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to add a question about whether each person being counted is a citizen.

View the complete April 22 article by Todd Ruger on The Roll Call website here.

Democrats ramp up investigations with subpoenas for Barr, Ross

House Oversight Committee to authorize subpoenas for citizenship question on 2020 census, possible abuse of security clearance policy

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform authorized a series of subpoenas Tuesday targeting Attorney General William Barr, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and two other officials with knowledge of the administration’s proposed U.S. Census citizenship question and alleged abuse of the White House’s security clearance policy.

The committee’s subpoena resolution related to the citizenship question also demands Justice Department documents and DOJ’s communications with Ross in 2017 and 2018, when Ross proposed that the citizenship question be added to the 2020 census.

Both subpoena resolutions passed on party-line 22-15 votes.

Congressman Blasts Commerce Secretary For Deceit In Census Scheme

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

In a powerful moment, Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO) slammed Trump Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for “misleading Congress” and trying to steal political power from nonwhite Americans, and called on Ross to resign.

Ross testified Thursday before the House Oversight Committee about his role in adding a question about citizenship to the upcoming 2020 Census — a racist ploy by Republicans that would intimidate many undocumented immigrants out of participating in the survey. This would lead areas with larger minority populations to be undercounted in the census, which would deny those communities equal representation in Congress and equal access to federal funding.

Clay asked Ross if he would “take responsibility today for misleading Congress” when he testified under oath that the citizenship question was added “solely” based on a request from the Department of Justice in December 2017. But new documents and memos have surfaced showing that Ross was part of an administration discussion on the new question in April 2017.

View the complete March 14 article by Oliver Willis on the National Memo website here.

‘A tremendous undertaking’: Minnesotans prepare for 2020 census

Credit: Getty Images

It has been called the largest peacetime mobilization in the country.

It will dictate how much federal money comes to Minnesota.

And it will determine the state’s political influence for the foreseeable future.

There is a lot at stake for Minnesota in the 2020 census, which is a little more than a year away. Getting an accurate tally isn’t just the work of the U.S. Census Bureau. State officials, local governments and even nonprofits are organizing and coordinating to count every resident.

View the complete February 2 article by Ryan Faircloth on The St. Paul Pioneer Press website here.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to quickly take up census citizenship question

The Justice Department’s request to add a citizenship question on the 2020 U.S. Census was granted. Here’s how that could affect voting districts. (Joyce Koh, Daron Taylor/The Washington Post)

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to bypass its normal procedures and decide quickly whether a question on citizenship can be placed on the 2020 Census.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman of New York ordered the administration to stop its plans to add the question to the survey. Furman said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross broke a “veritable smorgasbord” of federal rules by ordering the citizenship question added against the advice of career officials who said it was likely to cut down the response rate and make the census less accurate.

Normally, the Justice Department would appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit. But Solicitor General Noel J. Francisco said that would not leave enough time for a final ruling from the Supreme Court.

View the complete January 22 article by Robert Barnes on The Washington Post website here.

Federal judge rules against Trump administration’s plan to add 2020 census citizenship question

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was unlawful.

In his ruling, Judge Jesse Furman, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question to the census was “arbitrary and capricious” and enjoined the administration from including it on the questionnaire.

Furman, an Obama appointee, said Ross violated a statute that requires him to collect data through the acquisition and use of “administrative records” instead of through “direct inquiries” on a survey such as the census.

View the complete January 15 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

Federal judge rules against Trump administration’s plan to add 2020 census citizenship question

A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was unlawful.

In his ruling, Judge Jesse Furman, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question to the census was “arbitrary and capricious” and enjoined the administration from including it on the questionnaire.

Furman, an Obama appointee, said Ross violated a statute that requires him to collect data through the acquisition and use of “administrative records” instead of through “direct inquiries” on a survey such as the census.

View the complete January 15 article by Lydia Wheeler on The Hill website here.

With political clout on the line, Minnesota prepares for 2020 census

Credit: Getty Images

The result will determine whether the state will lose one of its eight U.S. House seats, which would dilute its clout on Capitol Hill and role in presidential elections.

Along with political matters, census data is used to calculate federal spending on infrastructure, school lunches and many other programs. The state could miss out on $15,000 in federal funds over a decade for each uncounted resident.

In an urgent effort to protect the state’s political leverage, Minnesotans are already racing to find and count every resident in the 2020 census.

The result will determine whether the state will lose one of its eight U.S. House seats, which would dilute its clout on Capitol Hill and Minnesota’s role in presidential elections.

View the complete December 16 article by Judy Keen on The Star Tribune website here.

Trump administration officials suggested sharing census responses with law enforcement, court documents show

Trump administration officials have privately discussed the possibility that in the future census information could be shared with law enforcement, according to documents filed in a legal challenge over plans for a new citizenship question on the 2020 survey.

The subject came up after a Democratic lawmaker asked whether responses to the survey could ever be shared with law enforcement agencies, something that has been strictly illegal according to federal law governing the census.

After a congressional hearing in May about the citizenship question, Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) submitted a written query about whether the Justice Department agreed with a memo it had issued in 2010 saying the USA Patriot Act could not override the confidentiality of the census.

View the complete November 19 article by Tara Pahrampour on The Washington Post website here.

Ross: 2020 Census Will Ask About Citizenship Status

The following article by Niels Lesniewski was posted on the Roll Call website March 26, 2018:

Commerce Department made announcement late Monday, despite outcry from Democrats

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has determined the 2020 Census should include a citizenship question. Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo

The Commerce Department has agreed to a request from the Justice Department to include a citizenship status question on the 2020 Census.

Commerce made the announcement late Monday, saying that the question would line up with the language used the American Community Survey.

“Citizenship questions have also been included on prior decennial censuses. Between 1820 and 1950, almost every decennial census asked a question on citizenship in some form,” the Commerce Department said in its announcement. Continue reading “Ross: 2020 Census Will Ask About Citizenship Status”