The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today applauded a federal judge’s decision to stop the Trump administration from questioning residents about their citizenship status as part of the 2020 census.
In a long and detailed opinion, the court concluded that Secretary Ross’ decision to add a citizenship question violated federal law and was “arbitrary and capricious” and that he acted “irrationally.”
The lawsuit was filed by 17 state attorney generals and the District of Columbia, among other cities and counties.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“We welcome Judge Furman’s well-reasoned decision to put an end to the Trump administration’s attempt to scare immigrant communities from participating in the census. We thank the many states and organizations leading the litigation to ensure that our census is free of politically motivated and unlawful questions.”
Previously, on July 11, 2018, CAIR urged the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Commerce to drop the citizenship question from the 2020 census.
On March 27, in response to the United States Department of Commerce announcing its intent to add a citizenship question to the census, CAIR rebuked the move as being a part of the Trump administration’s “white supremacist agenda.”