Washington DC, July 3: In a harsh defeat of United States President Donald Trump, the government ruled out bids to add a “citizenship” question to the 2020 census, stating the administration will start printing out forms that would not include the citizenship query.
According to Al-Jazeera news reports, justice department and White House officials have confirmed the development, came in aftermath of the ruling of Supreme Court on June 27 criticized the Trump-led administration for its original bids to add a “citizenship” question to the 2020 census.
In an official statement, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said, “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 added.
However, the Supreme Court has left a door of possibilities open for the Trump administration to adding the citizenship query in 2020 US census, leaving less time for the government to come up with another alternative.
In the court filings, the Trump administration had stated it would need time until June end to finalize the details of the queries.
In a tweet, the US president said, “A very sad time for America when the Supreme Court of the United States won’t allow a question of “Is this person a Citizen of the United States?” to be asked on the #2020 Census! Going on for a long time. I have asked the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice … to do whatever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions, and this very important case, to a successful conclusion. USA! USA! USA!”
….to do whatever is necessary to bring this most vital of questions, and this very important case, to a successful conclusion. USA! USA! USA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 3, 2019
In an official statement, Democratic Senator Brian Schatz said, “This is an enormous victory for the rule of law and the Constitution. We still have work to do to ensure a complete count, but this helps us to make sure that the government conducts this count in good faith and in compliance with the law.”