Press Releases
01/15/2019
Statement from AG Tong on Census Question Ruling
Court blocks citizenship question from 2020 Census, finds violations of federal law
Attorney General William Tong today issued the following statement on the decision by a federal court judge in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York finding that the U.S. Secretary of Commerce violated federal law in adding a citizenship question to the 2020 U.S. Census, that the action was "arbitrary and capricious" and that the question should be barred from the census questionnaire. Connecticut is a plaintiff state in the litigation:
"The states, many experts, former Census Bureau directors and even Census Bureau research all agree that demanding citizenship information on the U.S. Census would depress participation – particularly in immigrant communities that feel justifiably threatened by the Trump Administration's openly hostile political agenda. The judge in this case has agreed, and I appreciate the depth of the analysis that the court has provided in stopping this question from being included on the 2020 Census.
"My office will continue to work with our colleagues in other states to defend this decision against any appeal because the stakes for states like Connecticut are simply too great. Efforts that chill participation in the census and result in an undercount of our residents would directly impact our fair representation and potentially billions of dollars in federal funding for education, infrastructure, healthcare programs and more. The U.S. Constitution requires a census that determines 'the whole number of persons in each state,' and that is exactly what we will fight to ensure the federal government conducts."
###
- Twitter: @AGWilliamTong
- Facebook: CT Attorney General
Media Contact:
Jaclyn M. Severance
jaclyn.severance@ct.gov
860-808-5324 (office)
860-655-3903 (cell)
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov