New York Court Blocks Citizenship Question From 2020 Census

Advancing Justice | AAJC Applauds Court Decision and Moves Forward to Trial Next Week in Maryland Citizenship Case
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For Immediate Release
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Michelle Boykins (202) 296-2300, ext. 0144 mboykins@advancingjustice-aajc.org

Washington, D.C. – Today, Judge Jesse Furman ruled in the case of New York v. U.S. Department of Commerce to block the addition of the citizenship question on the grounds it violated the Administrative Procedure Act. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was found to have clearly violated federal law in attempting to add the question.

John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC issues the following statement in response to the federal court ruling:

“We applaud today’s decision to not allow Secretary Ross to move forward with adding the citizenship question to the 2020 Census. This is a strong win and compelling argument for restraining the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant agenda.

The court decision removes the political agenda and returns the census back to its original purpose, to count every person regardless of status as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. While this issue makes its way through the court system, Congress should act now to remove the citizenship question and the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 census. It will allow everyone to move forward and plan with confidence for the decennial census. 

We look forward to our day in court next week (January 22) where we will prove the racial animus behind the decision to add the citizenship question to the 2020 Census and show the potential detriment this question would have on the Latino and Asian American communities.”

Read LUPE v. Ross complaint here.

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Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC has a mission to advance the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and to build and promote a fair and equitable society for all. Advancing Justice - AAJC has served as a member to numerous advisory committees to the Census Bureau since 2000, including the Decennial Census Advisory Committee, the 2010 Census Advisory Committee, and, currently, the National Advisory Committee on Racial, Ethnic and Other Populations. In its advisory role, AAJC assists the Census Bureau in understanding what research programs would help the Bureau effectively to address the cultural differences and intricacies in various hard-to-reach communities, particularly in Asian American communities, in order to get the most accurate count possible. Additionally, Advancing Justice - AAJC currently co-chairs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (Leadership Conference) Census Task Force.

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