Trump denies administration's retreat on census citizenship question
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Trump denies administration's retreat on census citizenship question
By Lawrence Hurley, Reuters 1 hour 34 minutes ago
FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Trump participates in border funding legislation signing ceremony at the White House in WashingtonBy Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration had not dropped its efforts to add a contentious citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. census, contradicting statements made by his own officials including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
The U.S. Supreme Court last Thursday blocked Trump's plan to add the citizenship question, saying administration officials had given a "contrived" rationale.
Administration officials including Ross said on Tuesday that the census forms were being printed without the citizenship question.
Critics have called the citizenship question a Republican ploy to scare immigrants into not taking part in the decennial population count and engineer an undercount in Democratic-leaning areas with high immigrant and Latino populations. That would benefit non-Hispanic whites and help Trump's fellow Republicans gain seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures, the critics said.
"The News Reports about the Department of Commerce dropping its quest to put the Citizenship Question on the Census is incorrect or, to state it differently, FAKE! We are absolutely moving forward, as we must, because of the importance of the answer to this question," Trump wrote on Twitter.
White House and Commerce Department officials had no immediate comment on Trump's tweet.
"There's nothing fake about the Department of Justice writing us saying printing is starting without the citizenship question," the American Civil Liberties Union, which had challenged the citizenship question in court, wrote on Twitter.
Trump's hardline policies on immigration have been a key element of his presidency and 2020 re-election campaign.
Trump last Thursday also said he is exploring whether the census, which the U.S. Constitution requires be carried out every 10 years, can be delayed.
But Ross, a key figure in the controversy, said in a statement on Tuesday, "The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question."
MARYLAND COURT CASE
At the same time, the Justice Department told a judge in Maryland presiding over an ongoing court battle over the citizenship question that the administration had made a final decision not to proceed, according to two lawyers involved in the litigation.
U.S. District Judge George Hazel asked for the administration to submit its declaration in writing by next Monday, according to one of the lawyers. So far, the court docket shows no such filing.
Trump's administration had told the courts that its rationale for adding the question was to better enforce a law that protects the voting rights of racial minorities. Critics called that rationale a pretext for partisan motives.
Although the Supreme Court left open the possibility of the administration adding the question in the future, there was little time left for officials to come up with a new rationale. The administration had said in court filings that it needed to finalize the details of the questionnaire by the end of June.
The census is used to allot seats in the U.S. House and distribute some $800 billion in federal funds. Opponents have said the citizenship question would instill fear in immigrant households that the information would be shared with law enforcement, deterring them from taking part.
Citizenship status has not been asked of all households since the 1950 census. Since then, it was included only on questionnaires sent to a smaller subset of the population.
A group of states including New York and immigrant rights organizations challenged the legality of the administration's plan.
Manhattan-based U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman ruled on Jan. 15 that the Commerce Department's decision to add the question violated a federal law called the Administrative Procedure Act. Federal judges in Maryland and California also have issued rulings to block the question.
Furman said the evidence showed that Ross had concealed his true motives for adding the citizenship question and that he and his aides had convinced the Justice Department to formally request its addition to the census.
Evidence surfaced in May - documents written by a Republican strategist before he died last year - that those challenging the question said showed the administration's plan to add a citizenship question was intended to benefit Republicans and non-Hispanic white people in redrawing electoral districts based on census data.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Will Dunham)
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Secretary Ross said they are going ahead with the census form printing without the citizenship question.
The President said his fight for the citizenship question isn't over yet.
One, another or both of these statements may be true.
The form may be printed without the question.
If the Courts allow it, an addendum can be printed.
Additional training to Census Enumerators can be provided.
More funding may be needed to do all this.
The issue may be litigated, and possibly be resolved for now as pertains to future Census taking.
Time will tell.
A Census enumeration of those who live in the USA is one of those rare Constitutional mandates.
The Constitution does not address citizenship.
The question has been asked in the past.
It was dropped in the past as well.
P&AB.
Enoch.
P.S. A Joyous and meaningful 4th of July to those celebrating this holiday of freedom.
As always, I will be in V.A. Hospitals tending to the Pastoral Care needs of Veterans who will never in their lifetime leave the V.A. Health Care System Centers.
E.
Bless you, Enoch. Have a Happy and Safe 4th!
Dear Friend Trout Giggles: Same to you and yours.
Peace, Abundant Blessings, Joy and Meaning.
Tomorrow and Every Day.
Enoch.
Well if the 'president' is saying it's fake, we can pretty much guarantee it's true.