States, cities sue U.S. to block 2020 census citizenship question

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A group of U.S. states and cities on Tuesday filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from asking people filling out 2020 census forms whether they are citizens.

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The lawsuit, filed by 17 states, Washington D.C. and six cities, challenged what it said was an “unconstitutional and arbitrary” decision announced last month by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the Census Bureau, to add the citizenship question.

The census, authorized by the U.S. Constitution and conducted every 10 years, is used to determine the allocation to states of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds to local communities.

Critics of the citizenship question say its inclusion might dissuade immigrants, and perhaps many citizens, from being counted, with a disproportionate impact on Democrat-leaning states.

The plaintiffs include many Democrat-controlled or leaning states, major cities including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Supporters of the question, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, say it will help the country enforce the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.

A citizenship question has not appeared in the census since 1950.

At a press conference, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman called the question a “blatant effort” by the Trump administration, which he said has an “anti-immigrant animus,” to prevent the Census Bureau from “carrying out its clear constitutional mandate.”

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)