California can't show it will be harmed by the Trump administration's decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, and its legal challenge should be dismissed, the Department of Justice told a federal judge on Monday,
Administration lawyers called the state's fears that there will be an undercount are "highly speculative," and could be addressed when the Census Bureau follows up with households that hadn't responded to their population survey, reports The San Francisco Chronicle.
According to lawyers from the state of California, joined by governments in Oakland Fremont, Stockton, and Los Angeles, the state could lose from one to five House seats, electoral votes, and billions of dollars in aid.
Another suit has been filed by 15 states, also with high immigrant populations, and is awaiting a verdict from a federal judge in New York, and the Supreme Court is considering a request from the administration to question Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who added the question, about his motives.
Ross maintained the citizenship question was added, at the request of the DOJ, to enforce the Voting Rights Act, but evidence surfaced that he'd proposed the question before getting a letter from the DOJ last December.
Further, the states that have filed suit said Ross consulted with Trump's then-political strategist, Steve Bannon, and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on the question.
Administration lawyers argued Monday that the way Ross came up with the question was not relevant, as long as he "sincerely believed" the question would help enforce the act.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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