WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump gave up on adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census form.
President Trump and the Justice Department lost in court in their quest to add a question on the 2020 census asking persons if they are citizens of the United States. However, they continued to pursue the matter and came close to issuing an executive order to make it happen. When it became clear the question would likely not make it to the questionnaire, President Trump instead ordered the federal government to collect citizenship data through other means.
As the President pursued the seemingly straightforward data collection question for the census, Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Cory Booker said, “It is disgusting that President Trump stood in the Rose Garden … with the express intention of terrorizing immigrant communities, our friends, and our neighbors. But make no mistake: he lost. People coming together to fight back won. Every person will be counted by the Census. And we will keep fighting.” Booker then announced legislation to prohibit the United States Census Bureau from including any citizenship information in the data it provides to states for legislative redistricting.
President Trump has said that the citizenship question would have been a key tool in deciding Congressional representation.
