Justice officials discussed sharing Census information, email shows

WASHINGTON — Trump administration officials have privately discussed the possibility that Census information could be shared with law enforcement in the future, according to documents filed in a legal challenge over plans for a new citizenship question on the 2020 survey.

The subject came up after a Democratic lawmaker asked whether responses to the survey could ever be shared with law enforcement agencies, something that has been strictly illegal according to federal law governing the census.

After a congressional hearing in May about the citizenship question, Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., submitted a written query about whether the Justice Department agreed with a memo it had issued in 2010 saying the Patriot Act could not override the confidentiality of the Census.

In a June 12 email, department officials discussed how to respond to Gomez’s question in a way that left the answer open. Justice Department attorney Ben Aguinaga told acting assistant attorney general John Gore in the email, “I don’t think we want to say too much there in case the issues... or related issues come up later for renewed debate. So, I’ve just said that the Department will abide by all laws requiring confidentiality.”

Gomez’s office said it received a reply with that wording months later.

Confidentiality is considered a fundamental premise of the Census and crucial to the success of the constitutionally mandated count, which surveys each household in the country every 10 years. That confidentiality is enshrined in the Census Act of 1879.

In 1954, Congress codified the rules, which say that the Commerce Department, which oversees the survey, cannot share the data with any other government agency or court. Violators are subject to up to five years in federal prison and up to $250,000 in fines. The law can be changed only by Congress.

The Justice Department email was included in documents filed in San Francisco federal court for the trial scheduled to begin in January to consider the new citizenship question for the Census.

The Department of Justice declined to comment on the email or on whether Census confidentiality is subject to debate.