Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and President Trump's administration suffered a setback this week over whether the census should include a question asking respondents if they are U.S. citizens.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ordered the question stricken from the 2020 census form.
Ross says the question is needed so the Justice Department has accurate data to protect voters from discrimination. It's a questionable assertion since the citizenship question hasn't appeared on the general census form since 1950. And the judge didn't put a lot of credence in it.
At least 18 states states-including New York, Illinois and Iowa-along with 15 cities and counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a variety of immigration advocates had challenged the idea in court, say the question is discriminatory against immigrants, Hispanics in particular, by design and will mean fewer people fill out the census forms and send them in.
What they aren't saying is the real reason these states, cities and counties oppose the citizenship question. The census determines how many seats a state has in the House of Representatives as well as the number of electoral votes. And it is a big factor in parceling out millions in federal funds. And it doesn't matter whether the residents are here legally or not. The total is what's important.
The judge wasn't impressed by their arguments either and said they had no proof of any discriminatory intent.
No, Furman rejected the citizenship question mostly based on the Administrative Procedures Act of 1946, which governs how federal agencies propose and establish regulation. The judge said Ross hadn't followed it.
Frankly, we see no need for the question. We don't see a lot of harm in it, either. We doubt those with something to hide will fill out the census form either way. Bu it's almost certain Ross and the administration will appeal. The case could go to the Supreme Court. But time is of the essence. For the 2020 census to go as scheduled, pretty much everything must be in order by summer.
We'll have to wait and see how that works out.