Cities, states sue to block census query on citizenship

WASHINGTON — A largely Democratic coalition of 17 state attorneys general and seven cities filed a lawsuit Tuesday to block the Trump administration from asking respondents to the 2020 census whether they are citizens, opening a constitutional battle that some experts believe is destined to be settled by the Supreme Court.

In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, the officials argued that adding the citizenship question would depress the response to the census by noncitizens and their relatives, thwarting the Constitution’s requirement of an “actual enumeration” of the nation’s residents. The suit also claimed that the decision violated federal administrative law and a law setting standards for data quality.

Officials and House members representing some of the plaintiff states accused the White House of seeking to destroy the census’ bipartisan tradition for political gain.

“This is a brazen attempt by the Trump administration to cheat on the census, to undermine the accuracy of the census and to attack states that have large immigrant populations — states, most of which just happen to be Democratic states,” said Ellen F. Rosenblum, the attorney general of Oregon.

The decennial count of U.S. residents, which the Constitution mandates to include both citizens and noncitizens, is used to apportion House seats among the states and to redraw both local and state political boundaries.