There will be no question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.
According to The Hill, the Trump administration gave up on the issue it has been trying to force just days after the Supreme Court ruled against the question’s inclusion because the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, failed to provide an adequate reason for the question in the first place.
Since then, a Justice Department lawyer has confirmed that the census will be printed without the question.
“We can confirm that the decision has been made to print the 2020 Decennial Census questionnaire without a citizenship question, and that the printer has been instructed to begin the printing process,” DOJ attorney Kate Bailey wrote in an email sent to groups objecting to the question.
The Trump Administration had insisted that the question was needed for more accuracy, and to help better enforce the Voting Rights Act.
After the Supreme Court dismissed that excuse, Trump and his administration bemoaned the loss.
“I respect the Supreme Court but strongly disagree with its ruling regarding my decision to reinstate a citizenship question on the 2020 Census,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement Tuesday.
Trump said that the Supreme Court’s decision signaled a “very sad time” for America.