Democratic lawmakers grill Ross on citizenship question

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Democratic lawmakers accused Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Thursday of secretly orchestrating the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 census, citing an email they say shows he misled Congress about the decision.

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the chairman of the House oversight panel, said documents show Ross engaged in a campaign to add the question from the first days he joined the Commerce Department.

“These documents showed that he was not merely responding to a request from another agency,” Cummings said. “To the contrary, he was choreographing these efforts behind the scenes, he became impatient when his demands were not being met, and he was working directly with officials at the highest levels of the Trump administration to force this issue through.”

Ross testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in an often contentious hearing. He stuck with his explanation from previous hearings that Justice Department officials made a formal request to include the citizenship question to help it enforce the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The Census Bureau initiated a review to consider alternatives to DOJ’s request. Ultimately, Ross determined in March 2018 that reinstating the question was warranted.

Some 18 states, 15 big cities or counties, and immigrants’ rights groups have sued the Commerce Department. The plaintiffs say an undercount of Latinos and immigrants would jeopardize federal funding and congressional representation in states with a substantial number of both groups.

Two federal judges have declared the move to reinstate the question illegal.