NPR

Census Overseers Seeded DOJ's Request To Add Citizenship Question, Memo Shows

Dozens of states and cities are suing for the removal of the question, which the agency's own research suggests will suppress participation and make the 2020 census less accurate.

Months before he was asked to review a Justice Department request for a citizenship question to be added to the 2020 census, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross already had concluded that including one "could be warranted." In fact, Ross and his staff asked the Justice Department to submit the formal request for the controversial question, according to a newly released memo written by the Commerce secretary.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min readCrime & Violence
Heated Arguments At The Supreme Court In Newest Abortion Case
At issue is a clash between federal and state law about how pregnant women must be treated in the emergency room.
NPR5 min readAmerican Government
First Day Of Trump's Hush Money Trial Kicks Off With Opening Statements And A Witness
The prosecution is arguing that Donald Trump wanted to keep information out of the public fearing that it would turn off voters in 2016. The defense argues Trump did nothing illegal.
NPR5 min read
A Woman With Failing Kidneys Receives Genetically Modified Pig Organs
Surgeons transplanted a kidney and thymus gland from a gene-edited pig into a 54-year-old woman in an attempt to extend her life. It's the latest experimental use of animal organs in humans.

Related Books & Audiobooks