Toward an accurate census
The headcounting task of a census needs solid reasoning, not spurious politics. That plain idea won the backing of the U.S. Supreme Court, where a narrow majority blocked the wishes of the Trump administration.
The decision has sprawling implications in the legal and governmental worlds, especially in immigrantheavy California, which had backed the challenge accepted by the high court. In essence, the ruling blocks the Trump team from sending out census forms that ask about citizenship.
That query was slapped on the 2020 questionnaire by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who argued it was an innocent effort to develop a fuller picture of the nation’s population. But a recently revealed memo by a Republican operative suggested its intent was to scare off noncitizens fearful of revealing themselves to immigration authorities.
In the months since the case was first argued, the temperature has soared as the White House harps on the need for a border wall and talks up massive deportation sweeps. The conventional task of a census had become another arena in the immigration debate.
California lawmakers weighed in with victory statements, saying the outcome rebuked the president and should comfort immigrants. Beyond partisan politics, there are important reasons for a questionnaire that doesn’t chase away respondents. An undercount involving possibly millions of people can diminish a state’s congressional delegation, the numbers it has in the Electoral College that decides the presidency, and billions in federal allocations.
The practical outcome of the decision may be an obstacle for the administration. The ruling sends the issue back to lower courts for a fuller examination, but that delay may be fatal for the Trump policy. Time is running out for completing the census paperwork, meaning the citizenship question may need to be dropped. The same lower courts designated to reconsider the issue have repeatedly rejected the Trump administration’s reasoning.
In a series of tweets, the president suggested delaying the census indefinitely is on his mind — which would be a serious abdication of one of the federal government’s fundamental responsibilities.
The decision is also drawing notice from court watchers.
Chief Justice John Roberts crossed from the conservative side to join four liberal judges for the narrow 5to4 ruling. He’s drawing fire from conservatives who remember a similar switch in the monumental case that upheld President Obama’s health care plan. Roberts is said to be troubled that divisive politics are marring the court’s independent stature. In this case he could be the antidote to Trump’s efforts to pack the court with conservative picks, though he’s hardly a reliable liberal ally.
In writing the majority opinion, Roberts rejected arguments for the citizenship query, declaring that government agencies need “genuine justifications” for weighty policies and not “contrived reasons.” As evidence, the question hasn’t been included since 1950, and census experts have been warning Trump appointees that it wasn’t needed and would undercut results.
By legal decree, the White House is on notice. It doesn’t have a free hand to redesign the census into another tool in its assault on immigrant rights. That’s a message President Trump must heed.