A divided Supreme Court ruled last week that the Commerce Department’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census violated federal law. The opinion delivered a setback to the Trump administration’s last-minute attempt to add an untested citizenship question to the census. Here’s what the court said and what it means for the upcoming census.
1. The citizenship question is currently blocked from appearing on the 2020 census.
The Supreme Court upheld in part the ruling of a lower federal court barring the question. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts declared that the Commerce Department provided a pretextual reason for wanting the citizenship question that was merely “a distraction,” in violation of the legal requirement that agencies disclose the true reasons behind their decisions. The case has been sent back to the district court for further proceedings.
2. Blocking the citizenship question is the right outcome.
Blocking the citizenship question is the right outcome given the egregious facts of this case. But the justices also unfortunately made many holdings that misconstrue the law. They overturned much of the lower court’s holding that the Commerce Department committed a “a veritable smorgasbord” of violations under the Administrative Procedure Act, the law that governs how federal agencies are allowed to make decisions. The lower court found those violations to include, among others, the Commerce Department’s violating provisions of the Census Act, ignoring uncontested evidence that the citizenship question will lead to an undercount, and lying about the administration’s true reason for wanting to ask about citizenship on the census. The Supreme Court agreed that the administration provided a false reason for adding the question and blocked the question on that basis alone, but its opinion disappointingly sanctioned the other flagrant abuses of power that the Commerce Department undertook in this case.
3. Even without the citizenship question, the federal government must make serious efforts to regain public trust in filling out the 2020 census.
Fear and mistrust of the federal government remain at an all-time high. Discussion of the citizenship question has exacerbated fears of filling out the census, particularly among immigrants and people of color. Experts predicted that the question would have caused almost 9 million people not to complete their census forms.
While the citizenship question cannot now appear on the 2020 census, the threat of the question amplified long-running fears of interacting with the federal government. A recent Census Bureau study revealed that nearly half of the study’s participants expressed some level of concern about the confidentiality of their census responses. What’s more, almost one quarter of participants were “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” that their responses would be used against them.
Given these concerns, the federal government must now do everything it can to reduce fears about responding to the census. For instance, it must double down on its commitment to following the laws that protect the confidentiality of census responses. Those laws are ironclad: census responses must remain confidential and cannot be used against you in any way. The administration should broadcast its commitment to following them across the country.
4. Other challenges to the 2020 census still loom.
The citizenship question was not the only threat to the 2020 census. Although this week’s decision removed one of the greatest dangers, the census is still considered a “high risk program” according to the most recent report by the Government Accountability Office.
The 2020 census is the first that will be conducted primarily online. Concerns about cybersecurity persist, as do concerns over the digital divide — the gap between those with reliable access to the internet, and those with little-to-no access. Outreach to communities that lack internet access will be of paramount importance if the 2020 census is to proceed smoothly. Moreover, the confidentiality concerns discussed above persist. And the Census Bureau is not on course to hire the number of temporary workers it will need to go door-to-door in order to count the people living in households that do not respond to the census after receiving their census forms in the mail.
Advocates need to continue pressuring the administration to get the census back on track. Congress will need to engage in heavy oversight of the Census Bureau. And states and local governments can step up efforts to ensure their residents get counted. In short, the bureau may still have a lot of work to do to ensure a fair and accurate 2020 census, but everyone must do their part to mobilize the count.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.
And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.
In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.
We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.
We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $120,000 in one-time donations and to add 1383 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.
Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.
If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!
With gratitude and resolve,
Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy