CENSUS/LAWSUIT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration must face a lawsuit by states and advocacy groups over its plan to ask people who are filling out the 2020 census form whether they are U.S. citizens, a federal judge ruled on Thursday [7-26-18]. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan denied the administration’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, which is backed by 18 states and the District of Columbia. Furman said in Thursday’s decision that while Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had the authority to add the question, which was included in the census prior to 1960, he may have wielded it improperly. A Commerce Department spokesman said in a statement that the department was ‘pleased the court found that Secretary Ross has broad authority over the Census,’ and was ‘confident’ it would ultimately prevail in the case…The states, cities and organizations seeking to block the question have said it could lead to undercounting in states with large immigrant populations, jeopardizing their political representation and access to federal funds. They said an ‘unprecedented level of anxiety in immigrant communities’ under President Donald Trump, a Republican who has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration, could deter noncitizens from responding to the census.”
–Brendan Pierson, “U.S. must face multistate lawsuit over census citizenship question,” Reuters, July 26, 2018 7:17 am