White House press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed criticism on Tuesday of the administration’s attempt to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, claiming it has been common practice for decades.
Justice Department officials had initially requested the change in December as a preventative measure against voting rights violations. Following a months-long review process, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross confirmed the request on Monday.
“This is a question that’s been included in every census since 1965, with the exception of 2010, when it was removed,” Sanders told reporters. “It is going to determine the individuals in our country and provide information that allows us to comply with our own laws and our own procedures.”
Sanders said a citizenship question in the decennial census was “something that the Department of Commerce felt strongly needed to be included again.”
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra sued the Trump administration on Monday over the inclusion of a citizenship question, which he cast as a violation of the U.S. Constitution. Several Democrats, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have said the change would cause states with above-average immigration populations, like California, to lose seats at the state and congressional level.
“California simply has too much to lose for us to allow the Trump administration to botch this important decennial obligation,” Becerra said in a statement. “What the Trump administration is requesting is not just alarming, it is an unconstitutional attempt to discourage an accurate census count.”
