In a surprise move, President Trump this afternoon gave up on efforts to include a citizenship question in the U.S. census, but instead issued an executive order directing the Commerce Department to find another way to get the same information, reported CNN.
Critics said adding the question would have resulted in an undercount of minorities in this country. The Census is used to determine federal funding and is also used in Congressional redistricting.
In mid-June evidence surfaced that the Commerce Department and Republican strategist met to discuss ways to use the census to advantage “Republicans and non-Hispanic Whites.”
Less than two weeks later, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed course and said the Commerce Department had not justified its use of the citizenship question and rejected its use unless the Trump White House could show its intent was not discriminatory.
Trump aides said there was not enough time to challenge the ruling.
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“We’re not going to jeopardize” getting the census out in time, USA Today reported US Attorney General William Barr as saying.
The White House did its best to frame the issue in Trump’s favor.
“We are not backing down on our effort to determine the citizenship status of the US population,” Trump said.
“The president wants to know who is in the country legally and lawfully,” said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. “The American people have a right to know.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had characterized the citizenship question as an effort by Trump to “make America White again,” reported USA Today.
In a statement sent to AsAmNews, Asian American Advancing Justice said “the 2020 Census is finally free to pursue its true purpose – a fair and accurate count of all persons in the United States. We view this as a clear win for everyone — regardless of party or status — who believes in upholding the U.S. Constitution.”
“This announcement today puts an end to one chapter after more than a year of lies and rhetoric from this administration, whose purpose was to stoke fear and reduce participation within our immigrant communities,” the statement went on to say.
The director of ACLU’s Voting Rights Project ,Dale Ho, who also had opposed the citizenship question, declared victory to ABC News.
“Trump’s attempt to weaponize the census ends not with a bang but a whimper,” Ho said. “He lost in the Supreme Court, which saw through his lie about needing the question for the Voting Rights Act. It is clear he simply wanted to sow fear in immigrant communities and turbocharge Republican gerrymandering efforts by diluting the political influence of Latino communities.”
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