Census citizenship question stopped for now

“For now” being the key point.

The Supreme Court on Thursday put on hold the Trump administration’s plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form sent to every household, saying it had provided a “contrived” reason for wanting the information.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the splintered opinion. In a section agreed with by the court’s liberals, he said the Commerce Department must provide a clearer explanation.

Agencies must offer “genuine justifications for important decisions, reasons that can be scrutinized by courts and the interested public,” Roberts wrote. “Accepting contrived reasons would defeat the purpose of the enterprise. If judicial review is to be more than an empty ritual, it must demand something better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case.”

Roberts said a district judge was right to send the issue back to the Commerce Department for a better explanation.

A string of lower-court judges found that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated federal law and regulations in attempting to include the question on the census. They starkly rebutted his claim that the information was first requested by the Justice Department to enforce the Voting Rights Act, and they noted his consultations with hard-line immigration advocates in the White House beforehand.

What happens next was not immediately clear; the department had said it must know by the summer whether the question can be added.

See here for some background. Trump has already tweeted that they will try again, so it’s mostly a question of timing. Rick Hasen thinks they may be able to get back before SCOTUS in time for the fall term, which would allow for the question to be re-decided in time. Ari Berman, talking to ACLU attorneys who were among the counsel for the plaintiffs, think it’s unlikely. Everyone agrees that SCOTUS ruled that the Commerce Department could add a citizenship question if it had followed the Administrative Procedures Act, so if they can get back to SCOTUS they will almost certainly prevail. The new questions raised by the Hofeller files may be an extra obstacle for the Commerce Department, but not necessarily. Hold onto your butts. Daily Kos and Texas Monthly have more.

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14 Responses to Census citizenship question stopped for now

  1. Bill Daniels says:

    Well, there’s really no point in asking if people are citizens or not, since the consensus on the main debate stage yesterday is that no illegal aliens will ever be deported unless maybe they happen to commit some heinous crime here, and that EVERY illegal alien here will get all the ‘free’ healthcare they want.

    This ought to encourage every sick person in the whole world to come sneak in here, to get their free, first world treatment for their medical issues. I can’t see how that would be a problem for us.

  2. Manny says:

    Wish we could deport racists and russian cheeto lovers, unfortunately no county on earth would except them.

  3. Bill Daniels says:

    Racists and Cheeto lovers have to pay not only for their own health care, and the care of those on Medicaid and ObamaCare, but now it seems we will be called on to pay for any sick person that can manage to push pull or drag themselves here illegally, too. I mean, I’m stoked, how about you?

  4. David Fagan says:

    If interstate crimes are prosecuted, why are international crimes tolerated? If crossing the U.S. border is looked at as decriminalize, then how still that affect interstate law relations? If the United States wants to relinquish their jurisdiction defined by a border, then where does that lead the nation?

  5. Manny says:

    Racists and Russian Cheeto lovers are takers, if they worked as hard as they work their lips, they would not whine all the time, about how hard life is.

    Fagan your assumption speaks tons as to your ability, prior to 1929, there are about, it was not a crime, but the United States had borders. A known racists who favored lynching and the right of whites to beat blacks at will was the author of the change. Do you fall in that category?

  6. David Fagan says:

    That type of question does no one any justice. The nation has developed since 1929. I refuse to be placed in one or the other sides of that argument as it pertains to 1929. Both parties can be equally responsible to the racism of the time, it wouldn’t exclude you, if your question evolved the opposition.

  7. Manny says:

    Fagan you made two statement, the second one is not dependent on the first statement, as it would not effect interstate crimes, I take it you mean like kidnapping and crossing a state line as an example.

    The crime of entering without a visa is a misdemeanor, like a traffic ticket, fine of 50 to 250 dollars. What Trump and Obama have done is used that to separate the parents from the children. Trump has used the law to place the children in cages often enough and fail to provide toothpaste, tooth brushes or place to shower. Even the Taliban treats their prisoners better than that.

    The law was passed when Americans were blatantly racists and bigots, many are now very good at hiding their hate.

    What do parties have to do with the problem? This country used to condone slavery, it was outlawed. But you trying to deflect it as a party problem goes to prove what I stated in my original comment.

    You placed yourself right in there with Bill Daniels. Bill does not hide his hate for people that are not white. Below is one of his posts;

    We need to resurrect ‘Pedro Pan’ flights and get these kids back to their own countries. They are not Americans, they are not our responsibility. I agree we shouldn’t be holding them. We should be putting them on buses or planes just as fast as they sneak in, they need to be returned. We should have a goal of 24 hour turn around time, from entering the country, to leaving on a bus or plane.

    Easy peasy, problem solved.

    That is who you have aligned yourself with Fagan.

  8. David Fagan says:

    I haven’t aligned myself with anyone. No one should be intimidated for asking these questions. There was no question about race even asked, only one about laws, laws that affect everyone.

    When do people hold patents accountable? Parents of all races? Which parent would it be acceptable to swim across the Rio Grande with a child on their back?

  9. Manny says:

    Fagan those are children, but you go off on when should parents be held accountable. If you ain’t a Trump lover then you certainly seem have all the hateful characteristics to become one, well at least the arguments that racists and bigots make.

  10. David Fagan says:

    Take it easy, no one is against you. If people support diversity, how can it be expected that everyone thinks the same? Labeling people as racists provides the same division as people who actually believe in racism. It’s an exhaustive and never ending subject that over shadows every aspect of this society.

    Does it help anyone to put people in a box? Those who are” trump lovers” and everyone else? If so, how does it help? Does it make someone a better person because they don’t agree with another person?

    It’s an obvious given racism is wrong, but labeling people as a racist, to assume self righteousness, is very hindering to the person that does the labeling.

  11. Bill_Daniels says:

    David,

    You’re wasting your time. Manny’s a true believer in the progressive cause, which means box in, label, and divide. He’s a true believer in victimhood as power. He’s got his certified place on the victimhood pyramid. The problem for Manny is, his place on the pyramid is dropping.

    Did you see what happened to Dwight Boykins? Dwight was speaking to young SJW wannabees, and gave them a fairly traditional message for the girls to remain chaste, so that they don’t become pregnant early and out of wedlock. Now you’d think, hey, what’s wrong with that kind of message? Well it turns out that Boykins lost his black victimhood card in that moment, and became an enemy, a mansplainer who doesn’t respect women. Boykins is a mysogynist! He’s practically an ebil whypipo now! Girl power!

    What Manny fails to understand is, his conservative Hispanic upbringing puts him in the same camp as Boykins. It could easily have been Manny telling those girls to remain chaste, and getting crucified for it. Manny’s not down with all the transgender stuff, either; I seem to remember him not supporting men in women’s bathrooms, for example. Again, his conservative cultural Hispanic heritage puts him at odds with the liberal agenda. His place on the pyramid has gone down.

    Finally, I understand Manny’s tribalism, but as it relates to illegal aliens and open borders, Manny will only figure it out when it’s too late….the liberals want to flood the country with illegal aliens because Hispanic citizens, particularly those with long time roots here, and those who came here legally, and their descendants, just aren’t voting Democrat in enough of a margin. The way to solve this problem? Import people who WILL vote overwhelmingly Dem.

    He’ll figure it out when HIS neighborhood resembles a slum in Honduras or El Salvador, but by that time, it will be too late.

  12. Bill_Daniels says:

    Meanwhile, here’s Beto, campaigning among his voter base….illegal aliens who don’t have permission to be in the US and were sent to Mexico. This is who Beto and the other Dem candidates really care about.

    https://apnews.com/f0e50bbcfe7f4c65b5a711d42ccefc0a

  13. Ross says:

    @Bill, illegal aliens can’t vote, so there’s no benefit to any party allegedly bringing them in.

  14. Manny says:

    Like always you are wrong Bill, but does not stop your hate and venom toward anything that you find offensive, mostly people of color.

    Your kind of people Bill, do everything to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, they lie, they cheat, they blame others for their problems.

    By the way Bill, my neighborhood is composed of people from all over the world, most from south of the border. Guess what Bill in my street the people whose yards most resemble what you consider a slum, are white males, born in the USA. They are good people but on the lazy side when it comes to maintaining their yards.

    But Bill you are a racist and bigot, who likes to push your hate. But why are you afraid to post your real name, Bill?

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