Federal Judge Jesse Furman issued an order for Donald Trump that prevents the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census, according to The Hill. Now, Donald Trump announced that he was removing the citizenship question. This order places restrictions on the administration for the census. The order does not stop Donald Trump from collecting citizenship information from other sources.

Supreme Court rejects Donald Trump's order to add a citizenship question to the census

Donald Trump added the question about citizenship to the 2020 census.

This decision was challenged in court and New York Federal Judge Jesse Furman ruled against the Trump administration. After that ruling, the case was presented before the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled against the question by a vote of five to four. This decision did not reject the question from being added to the census, but upon the rationale of the argument. Trump's administration was using the language from the Voting Rights Act. This allowed the Trump administration the opportunity to return to court to argue for the right to the question of citizenship. The question has been a part of the census in the past with no objections.

Donald Trump removes the question of citizenship from the census

After the Supreme Court decision, Trump removed the question from the census. At the press conference, he announced his plans to get the citizenship status. Reuters reports that he could gather citizenship status from other federal agencies. The Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security are two of the agencies that would be required to offer this information.

The Census Bureau can use this information to calculate the population of the United States. The consensus of the parties opposed to the citizenship question believes that the question would favor the Republicans. States use the census data to redraw the district lines to have the proper representation in Congress.

Opposition to Donald Trump and the citizenship question

Different groups have already stated that they are ready to sue the administration if they pursue the collection of citizenship status. These agencies include the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the Asian American Advancing Justice (AAAJ). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has cases in the courts now about gerrymandering, and they are also keeping a close eye on the proceedings.

The precedence for this case is a Supreme Court ruling in 2016 named Evenwel. That main argument, in that case, was that districts are mapped by eligible voters and not total population. The ruling was not against citizenship being used to set district lines.

The state of Alabama has a case pending that Congressional apportionment should exclude non-citizens.

Cory Booker introduced legislation to stop Donald Trump from forcing agencies to share this information with the Commerce Department. Cory Booker is also a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president for 2020. That legislation is still pending and has not come up for a vote.

Federal Judge issues permanent stop against Trump and the citizenship question

Federal judge Jesse Furman issued an order against Donald Trump preventing the question of citizenship on the 2020 census. He was the first judge on the case before the Supreme Court. This order was allowed by the decision of the Supreme Court that if they could offer a stronger argument, then they could add the question about citizenship.

The order has three components. The first is the citizenship question could not be added to the census. Secondly, the administration could not delay the printing of the census to pursue ways to include the citizenship question. The last part of the order is that a citizenship question could not be a part of anything associated with the census. This includes a questionnaire about the census.

The order was drafted by the groups that opposed the citizenship question. They sent a letter to the judge stating their intentions. The judge granted the suggested order and made it effective until the data is due to the states. That letter also stated that the Department of Justice did not object to the order.

The final step for Donald Trump

Once Donald Trump signed the order to add the citizenship question to the census, the opposition rejected it and took their battle to the courts. The first judge ruled against the question and that ruling was confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court did allow them to continue their argument.

This decision gave the ability to continue the argument in the original court. It also gave Jesse Furman the ability to give the order to prevent the administration from adding the question of citizenship. This is another battle that Trump will have to face during his presidency.
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