Three Lower Courts Have Already Come Out Against Commerce Secretary’s Push to Add A Citizenship Question to the 2020 Census
Washington– Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s push to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census was constitutional. Three lower court judges have already come out against Ross’s citizenship question, with one judge ruling concluding that Ross used a “woefully deficient process” to add the question.
“Time and again, Secretary Wilbur Ross has lied to the American people. Today, his lies behind adding a citizenship question to the 2020 Census will take center stage as the Supreme Court hears that case,” said Lizzy Price, spokesperson for Restore Public Trust. “Just like his boss, Ross has a history of deception and obfuscating the truth from the American people, which has resulted in federal court cases and a rejected personal financial disclosure form, a document Ross is required by law to complete. Americans expect transparency from their public officials, but Wilbur Ross is not only lying to them, he’s making a mockery of the pillars of democracy. He must be held accountable for his lies.”
Although Ross has insisted that the citizenship question came at the Justice Department’s behest, emails prove that Ross was working to add the citizenship question months before the Justice Department weighed in. Just yesterday, the Washington Post gave Ross four Pinocchios for the real reason behind adding the illegal citizenship question to the 2020 Census. Moreover, Ross even lied to Congress about his involvement in adding the citizenship question.
Earlier this year, Ross testified before Congress about his decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, but he seemed to have a lot of trouble remembering key details. In the hearing, Representative William Lacy Clay asked Ross if he would “take responsibility… for misleading Congress, whether intentionally or not, about the process [Ross] followed, to add the citizenship question to the 2020 Census?” Ross responded that he had “never intentionally misled Congress.” Rep. Lacy Clay responded that Ross “misled Congress, lied to the American people,” and concluded that Ross had “zero credibility.”
The Court is expected to rule on the case before its term ends in June.