FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 12, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contact:\u00a0 Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO, jerry@galeo.org, 678.691.1086
(Norcross, GA) \u2013 Donald J. Trump conceded yesterday that his administration will no longer pursue a legal fight to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The president\u2019s statement comes in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s ruling late last month and federal court orders blocking the addition of a citizenship question.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MALDEF, along with GALEO as one of many organizational co-plaintiffs,\u00a0 successfully sued the Trump administration in Maryland, challenging the unconstitutional addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. In April, U.S. District Court Judge George J. Hazel ruled that the addition of a citizenship question violates\u00a0the Enumeration Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the Administrative Procedures Act.
That lawsuit also includes the unique allegation that Trump administration officials and others intentionally conspired to deprive racial minorities of their rights by adding the citizenship question to the 2020 Census.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFinally, Trump conceded defeat for his Administration\u2019s effort to add the citizenship question to the 2020 Census as an effort to dilute Latino and immigrant participation.\u00a0 Now, the challenge remains for us as a community to come together to create an environment of participation to ensure everyone is counted in the 2020 Census, regardless of citizenship status.\u00a0 There is much work to be done and GALEO stands ready to work with our Georgia Latino Complete Count Committee to make that happen,\u201d said Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of GALEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Please attribute the following statement in response to Trump\u2019s announcement to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund):
\u201cIt took him ten days, but Donald Trump finally caught up with where his lawyers were on July 1.\u00a0 It appears that Trump now understands that the Supreme Court decision last month \u2013 that Wilbur Ross lied about why he was adding an untested citizenship question to the decennial Census \u2013 prevents this administration from moving forward with such a question in Census 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a great victory for all who believe in the importance of accuracy in the Census and in the necessity of fairness in government policymaking.\u00a0 Given last week\u2019s experience, however, we will need to ensure that this is a final decision and that it is cemented in court order.\u00a0 Once that is done, we can all collectively focus on ensuring that every member of every household is counted in Census 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs for Trump\u2019s order that the Commerce Department collect data already held by the federal government on citizenship, MALDEF will carefully monitor how the order is implemented.\u00a0 Privacy issues and lingering questions about unconstitutional racially discriminatory intent may arise in this new administration effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the meantime, we should all ask whether the conduct of the Census, even without a citizenship question, should remain under the supervision of someone whom a majority of the Supreme Court has concluded lied to Congress and the American public.\u00a0 Wilbur Ross should be removed from office immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n