Federal judge strikes down effort to add citizenship question to Census

The ruling effectively puts a freeze on a deeply contentious move that critics said would discourage non-citizens from participating in the Census.

Judge Jesse Furman said Tuesday morning that the proposal is "unlawful," writing that "(Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross') decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census -- even if it did not violate the Constitution itself -- was unlawful for a multitude of independent reasons and must be set aside."

The administration is likely to appeal the ruling. The Supreme Court has already agreed to hear a portion of the case, saying it will review whether the challengers can introduce evidence outside of the official record, including the testimony of a senior Justice Department official. The court will hear those arguments next month.

"Today's 277-page ruling is a major loss for the Trump administration, but also not the last word on the matter," University of Texas School of Law professor and CNN contributor Stephen Vladeck said. "The Supreme Court is already scheduled to hear an appeal related to the pre-trial proceedings in this case in February, and the government will certainly appeal this decision to the federal appeals court in New York and, if necessary, the justices. That said, today's ruling means that, for now, at least, there won't be a citizenship question on the 2020 Census."

The case was a challenge to Ross' decision to add the citizenship question brought by the state of New York. At least two other cases, one in California and another in Maryland, challenging the citizenship question are underway.

At the heart of the case is how the reintroduction of the citizenship question to the 2020 census will affect the data the government gathers. The Census is a crucial document for determining how federal funds are allocated and how congressional districts are drawn for the following 10-year period. It is meant to account for everyone living in the United States, not just US citizens. The citizenship question has not been asked of all recipients since 1950.

CNN's Tony Marco contributed to this report.

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