ACLU Comment on Supreme Court Action in Census Citizenship Challenge

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral argument on February 19, 2019, about what evidence can be considered in the legal challenge to the Trump administration's addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued to stop the administration’s census plan, which aims to intimidate immigrant communities, drive down their census participation, and deprive them of critical resources and political representation.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, had this reaction to the Supreme Court action:

“The Trump administration is terrified of having to explain on the record why it added a census citizenship question, and has repeatedly tried to shield Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross from answering questions under oath. All relevant evidence should be considered. The record is clear that the administration added the citizenship question to intimidate immigrant communities, not to enforce the Voting Rights Act.”