Opponents of the Trump census warn that the fight is not over

Defense groups celebrate President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump boasts that Kim Jong Un "was so happy to see me" Romney defends Paul Ryan: "The fault of our defeat of 2012 is mine alone" Trump declares urgency in the face of Tropical Storm Barry MOREThe decision to abandon the addition of a question on citizenship at the 2020 census – but they do not let their guard down for the moment.

The Trump concession has given its critics one of their biggest legal victories so far after judges, including the Supreme Court, have repeatedly ruled against the inclusion of the issue in the census of the United States. next year.

But those who fought Trump say their work is not over yet.

The groups say that they must ensure that the court orders blocking the citizenship issue of the 2020 survey remain in place.

And they are reviewing Trump 's decree on other ways to collect citizenship data to ensure that it will not lead to discrimination against minority groups, especially when it is not. 39, it will be a question of drawing new legislative maps.

The lawyers say that the victory shows that they can successfully challenge the Trump administration policies that they deem discriminatory.

Sarah Brannon, senior advocate of the voting rights project of the American Civil Liberties Union, described the battle as "an extreme victory" and "one of the most successful legal efforts to end the president and to his intentions so clearly intended to demonize the citizens ". Americans who are not American citizens and who demonize the people of certain races and parts of the world who come to live in America. "

But Brannon and other supporters fear that damage has already been done to ensure that minority populations are counted in next year's census.

They fear that many people will not know if the question of citizenship is included in the census, even after the legal victory. This may cause some people to ignore the census, which could lead to an underestimate of the number of immigrants and Hispanics.

"Ensuring that traditionally under-enumerated communities participate in the census is always a concern. This concern has been exacerbated by anti-immigrant statements that continually emanate from this administration, "said Denise Hulett, Senior National Counsel for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund, who challenged the issue in court. .

"And yes, this has been exacerbated by the administration's attempt to add this question of citizenship to the census unnecessarily," she said.

The groups say they are committed to informing immigrant communities that they will not be asked about their citizenship during the census and that they should complete the form to ensure that their communities are not enumerated.

"They need the government to provide them with a significant assurance that in fact the information will not be used for enforcement, deportation, etc.," said Michael Herz, a professor at Cardozo Law.

"How effectively can the Trump administration convey this message?", He said. "Even if it's true, I would not believe it if I was already nervous."

Civil rights organizations also worry about Trump's decree, which requires federal agencies to send citizenship data to the Commerce Department, instead of asking questions about it during the census.

The Census Bureau originally recommended this step when officials first looked at ways to determine the number of citizens in the United States.

Federal law prevents the Census Bureau from sharing personally identifiable information with other federal agencies or with the general public. The bureau's website also explains that the information collected "can not be used against respondents by any government body or tribunal".

Brannon said that, while trusting the census staff, she was suspicious of the efforts of other Trump administration departments who might want to get their hands on this data.

"I think we must remain vigilant to ensure that they are allowed to stay the course and protect the privacy of all those whose data will be included in this additional transfer of administrative records to the Census Bureau," he said. said Brannon.

Advocates are even more concerned about the data used to draw district maps for congressional and parliamentary seats. These districts are currently based on total population data, but Trump's executive order indicates a 2016 Supreme Court ruling leaving unanswered whether states could use other types of data to draw these maps. .

The ordinance states that, since eligibility to vote depends partly on citizenship, "states could exercise this option more effectively with a more accurate and complete count of the citizen population".

Civil rights groups warn that the use of this type of data – commonly referred to as Citizen Voting Population – to draw congressional districts could undermine immigrant communities, especially Hispanics, and that they would probably call into question any effort to that effect in the courts.

The possibility of using such data would help Republicans and hurt Latinos and Democrats by redistributing constituencies was evoked in records uncovered on the hard drives of the late GOP strategist Thomas Hofeller, who allegedly played a role in the orchestration of the question of citizenship.

Hulett emphasized this evidence as a sign that some Republicans might seek to use this type of data to draw Congressional constituencies and effectively diminish the voting power of Hispanic communities in particular.

"These are real impacts and we are very concerned," she said.

Although Trump pointed to last month's Supreme Court ruling that federal courts can not rule on gerrymandering of supporters, Brannon and Hulett both said they felt this type of redistribution is illegal and could still be challenged in court.

Brannon said that if states were trying to leverage districts using this data, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) "will certainly investigate their motives, and investigate the circumstances in which those decisions were made, and will seek at all costs that these decisions be made on the basis of race. "

Civil rights groups continue to oversee legal battles over the issue of citizenship.

A federal judge in New York is currently hearing arguments about the advisability of punishing Trump officials for claims that they made false statements about the issue of citizenship during depositions. The ACLU, one of the parties to the case, has indicated its intention to continue the legal proceedings.

Another federal judge in Maryland had to determine whether there was a discriminatory intent behind the inclusion of the question in the census.

Hulett, whose group was one of Maryland's plaintiffs, told The Hill that all parties – including the Department of Justice – are in dispute to draft an order to present to the judge. case, which would place a permanent injunction against the inclusion of the issue in the census next year.

Further, it is possible that a question of citizenship will be addressed at the next census, in 2030.

In his majority opinion in the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that although the Trump administration could not add the question of citizenship to the census on the basis of its "artificial" initial justification, to know the application of the law on the right to vote, officials still had the power to add such a right. question to the inquiry in the future.

The lawyers told The Hill that they would ensure that future administrations try to answer such a question.

But Herz said the battle had effectively helped officials get an answer to the citizenship question at a future census.

"It would take a pretty amazing level of incompetence for another administration to not be able to add the question, if it wants to add the question," Herz said.