US Supreme Court blocks adding citizenship question to 2020 census

WASHINGTON -- The US Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the Trump administration did not give an adequate reason for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, blocking the question for the time being.

The court sent the issue back to the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, for further explanation, saying it "cannot ignore the disconnect between the decision made and the explanation given".

"If judicial review is to be more than an empty ritual, it must demand something better than the explanation offered for the action taken in this case," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Roberts joined with the court's liberal wing in delivering the court's 5-4 majority opinion.

However, the chief justice said that the decision to add the citizenship question was not "substantively invalid."

The Trump administration plans to ask all recipients a citizenship question on the 2020 census for the first time since 1950, claiming the question is needed to enforce the Voting Rights Act. Those who oppose the question's addition argue that the move will lead to an inaccurate population count.

The ruling raises the question of whether the Trump administration will have enough time or the ability to add the citizenship question before the census begins. The administration previously told the court that the questionnaire needs to be printed by the end of June, according to local media reports.

The data obtained from the 2020 census is used for the allocation of congressional seats and the distribution of billions of federal dollars to states and localities over the next decade.