The Supreme Court authorizes the trial of the census

WASHINGTON – Last Friday, the US Supreme Court refused to quash the lawsuit filed Monday in court over the Trump administration's plan to ask a question about citizenship in the 2020 census form. .

Eighteen states, several of the country's largest cities, and immigrant rights groups have filed lawsuits, arguing that adding the issue would make immigrants reluctant to respond to enumerators, saying that which would underestimate this segment of the population.

The Trump administration urged the court to suspend the case, saying the candidates had mistakenly sought to question the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, about why he had agreed to include the question in the form. Judges Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch, three Conservatives of the Supreme Court, have stated that they would have prevented the trial until the question of Ross's interrogation is resolved. .

The census, conducted every 10 years, is required by the Constitution. The results determine the size of each state's delegation to the House of Representatives. Census counts are also used to calculate the share of state funds in many federal grant programs.

The government stated that citizenship issues were included in almost all censuses until 1950. For the 2020 census, the Trump administration stated that the Department of Justice had asked that the question be added to provide more precise information on the population of voting age.

The complaint, filed in July, indicated that immigrant communities would resist co-operation with the census because they feared that the federal government would use the information on citizenship.

"These concerns have been magnified by the anti-immigrant policies, actions and rhetoric targeting the immigrant communities of President Trump and this administration," the complaint said.

The postponement of the trial would have reduced the chances of resolution of the dispute before the printing of the census forms that was to begin next year.

Pete Williams

Pete Williams is a NBC News correspondent covering the Justice Department and the Supreme Court, based in Washington.