The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] and other immigration advocacy groups filed suit [complaint] against the US Department of Commerce [official website] and the Bureau of the Census [official website] Wednesday, challenging the inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 Census.

The complaint alleges that the inclusion of the question amounts to a “door-to-door government inquiry” into the citizenship status of every household member in the nation and is in violation of the Census Clause [Art. I, sect. 2 text] of the US Constitution as well as the Administrative Procedure Act [materials]. The complaint calls this “a naked act of intentional discrimination” that will lead to an inaccurate count of the US population. The complaint also alleges that the inclusion of the question is specifically designed to further the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration in an unconstitutional manner.

The complaint was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York [official website] and was joined by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the New York Civil Liberties Union [advocacy websites] and the law firm of Arnold and Porter [firm website].

This complaint marks the latest challenge [JURIST report] to the Trump administration’s inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 Census.