Press Statement  AG Healey Statement on U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision Blocking the Citizenship Question on the 2020 Census

BOSTON — Attorney General Maura Healey today released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling affirming a previous decision –  in her office’s favor – from U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York that found the Trump Administration acted unlawfully in adding a question about citizenship on the 2020 Census.

“Today’s ruling is a victory for our communities, our state, and our democracy. It will help protect our representation in government as well as billions of federal aid dollars that support education, health care, and other priorities. I look forward to working with our partners to ensure everyone is counted and to continuing our fight against the Trump Administration’s attacks on the rule of law and our immigrant communities.”

BACKGROUND:

In April 2018, AG Healey filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s decision to add the question, arguing that the last-minute would jeopardize the accuracy of the federal census, undercount Massachusetts residents, and reduce federal funding to the state. In January, the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York agreed with AG Healey that adding a citizenship to the question would result in a population undercount and would harm the states’ representation in Congress and their federal funding. 

AG Healey previously led a coalition of attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, urging the agency not to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census.