Santa Clara Co. Leads Supreme Court Challenge To Census Question

SAN JOSE, CA -- Where is the proper place to discuss citizenship? That's the prevailing issue Santa Clara County is wrestling the feds. The county is leading a nationwide coalition of local jurisdictions from Baltimore to Seattle in the U.S. Supreme Court to fight the Trump Administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Decennial Census.

In coordination with Los Angeles, the National League of Cities and nine other local jurisdictions, Santa Clara County filed an amicus brief Monday urging the Supreme Court to bar the White House's attempt to undermine the accuracy of the U.S. Census by including the proposed citizenship question.

“The county of Santa Clara believes that our diversity is our strength,” Supervisor Dave Cortese said. “The Administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question is part and parcel of its efforts to promote fear and distrust of government in our immigrant communities. We will fight these efforts every step of the way.”

Beyond the question of citizenship being a humanitarian issue, the maneuver would jeopardize "vital federal funding and would endanger the health and safety of everyone in the county,” Supervisor Susan Ellenberg cited.

The county’s brief describes the significant harm that a citizenship question would cause to residents of local jurisdictions across the country. As the brief details, the U.S. Census Bureau itself acknowledges that adding the question would cause a severe undercount of residents.

The undercount threatens residents’ political rights by preventing governments from drawing accurate lines for political districts. The brief also discusses the U.S. Constitution’s Enumeration Clause, which requires an accurate census that counts everyone.

The county calls the addition unlawful and a source of "real and immediate harm to communities across the country."

The brief is available to view here.