The Census Bureau will not include a question about citizenship in the printed questionnaire for the 2020 census, according to an email sent by a Justice Department official.
“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,“ a DOJ attorney wrote to plaintiffs in related lawsuits.
The decision signals a major defeat for the Trump administration after the Supreme Court refused to allow the question to be added without further explanation from Census officials. Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberal wing last week in a surprising decision that sent the case back lower courts for further review.
The Census Bureau said during litigation that it faced a June 30 deadline to finalize printed questionnaires. However, President Donald Trump threatened to delay the census following the unfavorable Supreme Court ruling, which thrust the process into uncertainty.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine