Judge OKs lawsuit on census citizenship query

WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Thursday gave the green light to a lawsuit seeking to block the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, saying plaintiffs had made a plausible case that the move was a deliberate attempt by the White House to discriminate against immigrants.

The ruling, by U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan, set the stage for a trial this fall that is expected to delve into how and why President Donald Trump’s administration decided in March to add a question to the next census about citizenship status.

The plaintiffs, which include state and local governments and advocacy groups, claim that asking residents to verify their citizenship would “fatally undermine” the accuracy of the head count because both immigrants legally in the U.S. and migrants in the U.S. illegally would refuse to fill out the form.

A reduced count in areas with large immigrant populations could reduce Democratic representation when new state and congressional districts are drawn in 2021, and skew the distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal grants and other spending.

Furman rejected a claim that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who made the decision to add the question to the census form, lacked the authority to do so. But the judge said the circumstances surrounding Ross’ actions, including his shifting explanation of what he did and why, raised questions about his true intent.