New York state's attorney general said on Tuesday he will lead a multistate lawsuit to try to stop the federal government from asking people whether they are citizens in the 2020 Census, arguing the move will discourage immigrants from participating.
The U.S. Commerce Department, which runs the Census Bureau, announced on Monday that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had decided to include the citizenship question after a Justice Department request based on a desire for better enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. The act protects minorities' voting rights.
Ross had decided that "obtaining complete and accurate information to meet this legitimate government purpose outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts," the department said in a statement.