On Thursday, June 27, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a setback to the Trump administration’s plans to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, effectively blocking the addition of the question, according to CNBC.
In an opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court questioned the administration’s reasoning for adding the question and ordered the case to be reconsidered by a lower court.
On Tuesday, July 2, Kate Bailey, an attorney with the Department of Justice, wrote in an email: “We can confirm that the decision has been made to print the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire without a citizenship question and that the printer has been instructed to begin the printing process.”
They're already printing them… pic.twitter.com/DIlrGJ8mpu
— Tabi (@ApplebeeTabitha) July 3, 2019
The email was sent to challengers of the citizenship question Tuesday and provided to CNBC. Kelly Laco, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, confirmed that the question will not appear on the census.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the census, said in a statement that “I respect the Supreme Court but strongly disagree with its ruling regarding my decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.”
“The Census Bureau has started the process of printing the decennial questionnaires without the question. My focus and that of the Bureau and the entire Department is to conduct a complete and accurate census,” Ross said.
So, is all this really fake news?
At 10 a.m. this morning, July 3, Trump tweeted: “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.”
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.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
First of all, the 2020 census is being printed and it is a matter of law. Bloomberg notes: “The U.S. Constitution requires a census every 10 years, and census day is set by federal law as April 1. The administration has said the 2020 census questionnaire needed to be ready for printing by June 30.
It is rumored that Trump will even go so far as to delay the census, I guess by issuing an executive order. But seeing as the census is governed by the Constitution, it would take a new amendment and then it would have to be ratified by 2/3 of the states.
— #RandomWhiteGuy (@coleyworld) July 3, 2019
