Feinstein on Supreme Court Ruling on Census Question

Washington—Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled against the Commerce Department’s rationale for adding a citizenship to the 2020 Census:

“I’m pleased the court rejected the administration’s rationale for adding the question. However, the court’s conservative majority overlooked clear evidence that adding a citizenship question would discourage census participation in immigrant communities and communities of color, and I’m concerned what that will mean for future rulings.

“The Constitution calls for an accurate count of ALL individuals living in the United States. A Census Bureau report found that adding the citizenship question could result in an up to 8 percent undercount – such a result would affect everything from voting representation to federal funding for infrastructure, schools and safety-net programs – which would be particularly harmful to diverse states like California.

“I hope the administration will abandon this partisan endeavor and instead work with Congress and the states to maximize responses to the census to ensure a fair and accurate count of everyone living in the United States.”

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