CENSUS/COMMERCE/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The 2020 census will ask respondents whether they are United States citizens, the Commerce Department announced Monday night, agreeing to a Trump administration request with highly charged political and social implications that many officials feared would result in a substantial undercount. In a statement released Monday [3-26-18], the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had “determined that reinstatement of a citizenship question on the 2020 decennial census questionnaire is necessary to provide complete and accurate census block level data,” allowing the department to accurately measure the portion of the population eligible to vote. But his decision immediately invited a legal challenge: Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, plans to sue the Trump administration over the decision, a spokeswoman for Mr. Becerra said late Monday…New York’s attorney general, Eric T. Schneiderman, plans to lead a multi-state lawsuit against the move, a spokeswoman for Mr. Schneiderman said Tuesday. Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, filed a separate lawsuit over the decision late Monday night, a spokeswoman for Mr. Becerra confirmed.”
–Emily Baumgaertner, “Despite Concerns, Census Will Ask Respondents if They Are U.S. Citizens,” The New York Times online, Mar. 27, 2018