New developments at the state and federal level may prohibit the addition of the citizenship question to the Census 2020 form.

Last week a judge in New York ruled against the addition of the question because of the way the specific process and procedures were handled by the commerce secretary in working to include it.

In the 277-page legal brief the judge noted: “The court finds that the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census will harm the quality of the resulting census data.”

In addition to that decision, Reuters reported last week that there may be more support in the new Congress for the Census IDEA Act which was introduced but did not move forward last year, it is expected to be re-introduced for consideration soon.

If re-introduced and passed, the legislation would prohibit the Department of Commerce from “implementing any major operational design that has not been researched, studied and tested for at least three years before the date” of the census, including changes to the questionnaire.

As CMF has reported, during Foundations on the Hill in Washington, D.C. last year CMF joined philanthropy serving organizations throughout the country in requesting that the federal government not add the citizenship question to the Census 2020 form because it had not been field tested. All questions on the census form to-date have been tested.

In the summer, CMF members were invited to sign a grantmaker letter for foundations being circulated by the Funders Census Initiative under the leadership of the Bauman Foundation, urging the Commerce Department to remove the citizenship question. Individuals were also encouraged to submit public comments via the Federal Register.

In November, the U.S. Census Bureau released the findings of its own study citing that “the citizenship question may be a major barrier” to participation, based on the research.

Donna Murray-Brown, president and CEO of the Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA) and Hassan Jaber, executive director and CEO of ACCESS, shared this statement with CMF in response to the ruling:

"On behalf of Michigan’s Nonprofit Complete Count Committee, a coalition of more than 40 diverse state organizations to ensure Michigan gets a complete and accurate count in the 2020 census, we applaud the ruling to strike down the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. Asking every person about their citizenship status when there is no legal basis or need for doing so will give many people pause about participating in the census and will have a chilling effect on populations who may be hesitant to respond. With more than 600,000 immigrants in the state of Michigan, an undercount poses significant political and economic ramifications for the state. Immigrant communities, along with people who live in poverty, communities of color, people experiencing homelessness and young children are the targets of our Nonprofit Complete Count campaign. The stakes of a fair and accurate census are high and this is an important first step toward restoring the integrity of the 2020 census."

As for the ruling in the New York court, the judge acknowledged it would likely not be the final word on this issue and expects it may be challenged and taken to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Washington Post reports another similar case is currently underway in California and another case is expected to begin this week in Maryland.

If an injunction is issued, the New York judge provided a specific process that would need to be met by the secretary of commerce before a citizenship question could be added.

The brief states that when it comes to a final decision on the citizenship question “time is of the essence” because the Census Bureau must finalize the questionnaire for the 2020 census by June 2019.

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Learn about CMF’s Census 2020 work and resources.