CENSUS/CITIZENSHIP/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Supreme Court on Thursday [6-27-19] dealt an unexpected blow to the Trump administration’s move to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, ruling that official explanations for the move were implausible and legally inadequate. In a surprising decision, Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court’s liberals on that point. The high court returned the case to lower courts for further action, raising doubts about the administration getting the go-ahead to add the question before upcoming deadlines to finalize the census questionnaire. Several lower courts previously found that the administration violated federal regulatory law when it added the question. The administration argued that citizenship data will assist with anti-discrimination provisions in enforcement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. However, critics contend that immigrant households could skip the census over fears the information could be used to scrutinize their legal status. Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the administration’s rationale appeared to be ‘contrived’ and suggested that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross presented a misleading rationale for adding the question when he said it had been requested by Justice Department officials to protect the rights of minority voters.”
–Ted Hesson and Josh Gerstein, “SCOTUS deals setback to Trump administration attempt to add Census citizenship question,” Politico, June 27, 2019 1:35 am