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On Wednesday, a federal judge postponed a decision on whether the Trump government had hidden the involvement of a deceased GOP agent who had insisted on adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, because that would create an advantage for the Republicans.
US District Court Judge Jesse Furman said he was delaying any decision on the grounds that he did not want to speed up the process until the Supreme Court ruled on the issue of citizenship .
"There is no apparent urgency to resolve the applications before me, no reason to speed up the process before the Supreme Court makes its decision, it could easily be dealt with after their decision, and I do not want to do anything to go beyond the line, "said Furman Furman. I said.
In a crowded federal Manhattan courtroom, New York Immigration Coalition lawyers sought to impose sanctions on the Department of Justice for withholding evidence and making false statements.
The evidence refers to court documents last week suggesting that the idea of adding the question of citizenship could have come from Thomas Hofeller, a Republican cutting specialist, who had written in letters and memos stating that the issue would create an electoral advantage for Hispanic Whites. "
In a brief filed before the hearing, the Department of Justice stated that Hofeller had no role to play in his application to the Commerce Department in December 2017. "There is no of smoking gun here, only smoke and mirrors, "said the ministry. According to several reports, Hofeller urged the transition team of President Donald Trump to include the issue of citizenship in his list of priorities for the new president.
John Freedman, representing the New York Immigration Coalition, told the judge that he was seeking sanctions and whether trade officials had access to Hofeller's analysis.
In January, Furman had prevented the Trump administration from asking questions about citizenship status in the 2020 census, claiming that even though such an issue was constitutional, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross had added it arbitrary manner and did not follow the appropriate administrative procedures.
The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision regarding the legality of adding the citizenship issue to the census before the end of June so that the government can meet its deadline for printing.
Furman has set 12 July as the deadline for plaintiffs to file a motion by setting out the evidence. A government response is expected on August 2nd.
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