(WASHINGTON) – The
Trump administration’s last-minute rushed census timeline
cuts nearly a month from the actual count and cuts four
months from the time for processing and reporting the data, a lawsuit filed against Commerce
Secretary Wilbur L. Ross and Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham in
the United States District Court for the Northern California said
today.
The lawsuit was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law,
civic organizations and local governments to block the Trump Administration’s
plan to force the Census Bureau to cut the 2020 Census count short.
“This administration knows well that its 11th-hour decision to terminate census
operations early will likely lead to an undercount of African Americans, immigrants
and other people of color who have historically been left behind in prior
Census counts,” said Kristen
Clarke, president and executive director of
the Lawyers’
Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “At every
turn, this administration has undertaken action intended to obstruct the 2020
Census by excluding or depressing participation among communities of color.
Shortening the counting timeframe in the middle of the Census, against the
advice of career officials and experts, and without a clear plan for moving
forward, defies logic and reason. This lawsuit seeks to stop obviously
destructive actions that can only result in incomplete data and an undercount,
especially in Black and other communities of color.”
The Trump
administration’s abrupt change flouts the census bureau’s own
plans for dealing with the hardships imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic,
undermining the quality and accuracy of the census as well as guaranteeing a
substantial undercount of communities of color.
“We’re not going to allow the American people to be cheated out of a fair and
accurate Census count because politics has infected the process,” National
Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “The
Trump Administration has openly worked to drive down minority participation in
the Census to give less representation to more diverse states, and now is
rushing the deadline so that the data can be manipulated to
exclude immigrants, in defiance of the Constitution, before legislative
districts are drawn.”
The plaintiffs,
represented by the Brennan Center for Justice, the Lawyers’ Committee for
Civil Rights Under Law and Latham & Watkins, LLP are the National Urban
League, the National League of Women Voters, the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration, the
cities of Los Angeles and San Jose (California), and Harris County
(Houston).
“The Trump Administration’s snap decision to rush the 2020 Census to a close in
the face of a worsening pandemic is both unjustified and unjustifiable,”
said Thomas
Wolf, senior counsel and Spitzer
Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. “The decision
runs counter to common sense and constitutional law, discarding the Census
Bureau’s duty to ensure a full, fair, accurate, and non-discriminatory count
for absolutely no reason, let alone any good reason.”
The suit asks the court to the keep 2020 Census on the extended contingency
schedule proposed by census officials and already approved by the House of
Representatives. Under that contingency plan, the bureau would complete the
census, including door-knocking, by October 31, 2020, and deliver apportionment
numbers to the president by April 30, 2021. Redistricting data would be
reported to the states by July 31, 2021.
“We’re suing to block the Trump Administration from unconstitutionally
abandoning a plan to obtain an accurate Census in the midst of a devastating
pandemic,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.
“From political representation to crucial public funding, every L.A. resident
has so much riding on a full, fair and complete count. The
Administration’s abrupt, inexplicable and unlawful reversal would harm
Angelenos for the next decade. It must not stand.”
The Covid-19 pandemic imposed daunting new challenges to the decennial census just as the count was getting underway, including massive displacements of people. It also forced field operations to halt, affecting outreach to hard-to-count populations like Black, Latino, Native American and immigrant households.
“The Trump Administration’s order shortening the time to complete the Census from October 31st to September 30th is yet another of this administration’s rogue and racist decisions intended to deprive Black communities of resources and execute a redistricting scheme that supports and perpetuates white supremacy,” said Nana Gyamfi, executive director, Black Alliance for Just Immigration. “The extension was granted in recognition of COVID and its impact on outreach and capacity to get an accurate count. This manipulative order to shorten the time will result in a significant undercount of Black folks, including Black immigrants. We will continue to make sure our community members are counted in the Census even as we oppose this latest attack by this Administration.”
Census Bureau officials requested an extension of census data collection, processing, and reporting deadlines to accommodate a contingency plan that President Trump himself publicly supported. But on August 3, after months spent following their contingency plan, Secretaries Ross and Dillingham abruptly announced the census’s data-collection operation would stop September 30, a full month short of the time census officials previously said was necessary to complete the count.
The lawsuit ties
the bureau’s reversal to President Trump’s issuance of an executive memorandum issued earlier this summer
which seeks to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment numbers
that determine states’ seats in the House of Representatives.
The lawsuit argues that the administration’s attempts to rush the census to a
close pose a grave threat to the vital functions that rely on census data, from
reapportioning the United States House of Representatives and redrawing state
and local electoral districts to equitably distributing over $1.5 trillion
annually in federal funds that support basic needs like food, health care, and
education. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are membership and advocacy
organizations, counties, and cities, whose residents or constituents will
likely be inaccurately represented and underrepresented in the final census
count if the administration succeeds in ending the 2020 Census prematurely.
The lawsuit seeks to have the court declare the decision to scuttle the census COVID-19 plan unlawful because it violates the Enumeration Clause and the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, as well as the Administrative Procedure Act.
Read the complaint here.
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 56th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.
About the National Urban League – The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment in order to elevate the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. The National Urban League spearheads the efforts of its 90 local affiliates through the development of programs, public policy research and advocacy, providing direct services that impact and improve the lives of more than 2 million people annually nationwide. Visit www.nul.org and follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @NatUrbanLeague.
About the Brennan Center for Justice – The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law is a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to reform, revitalize and — when necessary — defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.
About Latham & Watkins, LLP – Latham & Watkins delivers innovative solutions to complex legal and business challenges around the world. From a global platform, our lawyers advise clients on market-shaping transactions, high-stakes litigation and trials, and sophisticated regulatory matters. Latham is one of the world’s largest providers of pro bono services, steadfastly supports initiatives designed to advance diversity within the firm and the legal profession, and is committed to exploring and promoting environmental sustainability. For more information, visit https://www.lw.com.
