WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it will take up the battle over a citizenship question for the coming census, agreeing to hear and decide the case before the court's term ends in late June.
Eighteen states, several of the nation's largest cities, and immigrant rights groups sued the government over its decision to ask about citizenship on the 2020 census form that goes to every U.S. household. They said the question would make immigrants reluctant to respond to census takers, resulting in an undercount of the population.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case in April.
A census is required every 10 years by the Constitution. The results determine the size of each state's delegation in the House of Representatives. And census data is used to calculate a local government's share of funds under many federal programs.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said the question was added at his direction, after he received a letter from the Justice Department which said the data was needed to properly enforce civil rights laws. But Federal District Court Judge Jesse Furman of New York said the evidence at a trial on the issue revealed that Ross's claim was a pretext.
Furman concluded that Ross asked the Justice Department to send the letter, which showed that he "made the decision to add a citizenship question well before he received DOJ's request." The judge also found that including the question would violate a federal law requiring the government to get as accurate a count as possible, because it would "materially reduce response rates among immigrant and Hispanic households."
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Judge Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Chief Justice John Roberts as Kavanaugh's wife Ashley holds the family bible and his daughters Liza and Margaret look on in a handout photo provided by the U.S. Supreme Court taken at the Supreme Court building in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. Fred Schilling/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 6: In this handout photo provided by the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, (Retired) administers the Judicial Oath to Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as his wife Ashley Kavanaugh holds the Bible while joined by their daughters Margaret and Liza, in the Justices Conference Room at the Supreme Court Building on October 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Fred Schilling/Supreme Court of the United States via Getty Images)
A protester sits on the lap of "Lady Justice" on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as demonstrators storm the steps and doors of the Supreme Court while Judge Brett Kavanaugh is being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Demonstrators protest in the street behind the U.S. Supreme Court building as they wait for Justice Brett Kavanaugh to depart after he was sworn in as an Associate Justice in ceremonies at the court on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Demostrators chant ion front of the locked doors at the top of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building while Judge Brett Kavanaugh is being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Protesters overrun the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
A man prays amidst protesters demonstrating on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in inside in Washington, U.S. October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Protester in support of and against the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh demonstrate on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building as Judge Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Annabella Helman of Indianapolis, Indiana, and Olivia McAuliffe of McLean, Virginia join hands as protesters overrun the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court as Brett Kavanaugh is sworn in as an Associate Justice in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan
A protester stands on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building in front of police after they cleared the steps of demonstrators while Judge Brett Kavanaugh was being sworn in as an Associate Justice of the court inside on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 6, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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The Trump administration argued at the trial that questions about citizenship or country of birth have been asked of during all but one census from 1820 to 2000. The form includes many demographic questions, the government said, about race, sex, Hispanic origin and relationship status.
While the challengers and the government differed about whether the judge got it right, they agreed that the Supreme Court should take the case now, bypassing the normal process of letting a federal appeals court rule first. The Justice Department said the deadline for preparing the census form is this June, so the justices should take the case "in light of the immense nationwide importance of the decennial census."
That notion was also advanced in a legal brief filed by House of Representatives, controlled by Democrats, which opposed including the question. But it added that while House Republican leaders do not agree about putting the issue on the form, they "do agree that, if the court chooses to grant review, it should resolve the matter expeditiously."
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