Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are demanding that the Justice Department hand over documents detailing the Census Bureau’s decision to include a question about citizenship on the 2020 census.
The Justice Department sent the Commerce Department a letter in December asking for a citizenship question to be included on the upcoming Census questionnaire. In March, the Commerce Department, which houses the Census Bureau, announced the question would appear and cited the need to ensure better enforcement of the Voting Rights Act.
All 18 Democrats on the panel sent a letter to Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., on Tuesday urging him to issue a subpoena to compel the Justice Department to turn over all relevant records related to its request.
They are seeking communications between the Justice Department and several entities, including the White House, Republican National Committee, and the Trump campaign, as well as documents that show who was involved in the Justice Department’s request to add the citizenship question.
“These documents are critical to our committee’s understanding of why the Department of Justice wanted this information and who directed the department’s request,” they wrote.
The decision from the Trump administration has angered civil rights groups and Democrats who argue adding a citizenship question would lead to a population undercount that would disproportionately affect states and cities with large immigrant communities.
