Jun 27, 2019

Supreme Court freezes citizenship question for 2020 Census

Protesters wave signs that say "Every person counts" in front of the Supreme Court building

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration can’t add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census unless and until it does a better job of explaining why that question is necessary, the Supreme Court said in a deeply fractured decision Thursday morning.

Why it matters: Experts say the citizenship question would lead to a less accurate census, which in turn would skew the makeup of the House and deprive minority communities of federal funding. That question won’t go forward for now, but the administration will have another chance to make its case.

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