Schneiderman sues administration over census question

Attorneys General from 17 states and the District of Columbia are suing the Trump administration for its decision to ask about immigration status on the 2020 census, a move denounced by immigrant rights advocates as an effort to "undercount communities of color". "Adding a citizenship question to the Census form has a deliberate and intended chilling effect on participation", Rosenblum said.

Schneiderman noted in the release that one of the USA federal government's most solemn obligations is to provide a fair and accurate count of all people in the United States, citizen and non-citizen alike. The lawsuit accuses the Trump administration of breaking with decades of practice in demanding to know citizenship status.

Attorneys General from Connecticut, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Iowa, Delaware, Maryland, Oregon, North Carolina, Virginia, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia joined the suit.

On Tuesday, Schneiderman questioned that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was really interested in better enforcing the Voting Rights Act.

The defendants were the U.S. Department of Commerce, responsible for the census, and the Bureau of the Census. "In return, they rightfully expect to receive our state's fair share of federal funding for our roads and schools and an appropriate number of representatives in Congress". The lawsuit also argues that the decision runs up against the Administrative Procedure Act, which bars "arbitrary and capricious" agency action.

The decennial count of United States residents, which the Constitution mandates to include both citizens and noncitizens, is used to apportion House seats among the states and to redraw both local and state political boundaries.

He also said procedurally the Trump administration added the question in without putting it through the full array of tests that are usually required before any new questions are added. It would be the first time in 70 years that the government used the census form sent to every household to ask people to specify whether they are US citizens.

He released a statement saying, "Sanctuary states like California flaunt federal immigration law to give aid and comfort to large populations of illegal aliens, and those states are unjustly rewarded with extra Congressional representation as a byproduct of doing so". According to the Census Bureau, there are 132 federal programs, including Medicaid, Child Care Development Grants, the Highway Trust Fund, and other Department of Transportation grants, through which resources are allocated by Census data - totaling $675 billion per year.

The lawsuit aims to block the Trump administration from adding the last-minute citizenship question to the 2020 census.