New York, NY—Despite US District Judge Lucy Koh’s preliminary injunction ruling last week ordering the headcount of every person in the United States to continue through October 31, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced via Twitter that October 5 would be the new "target date" for ending all 2020 Census counting efforts. The announcement came minutes before a follow-up virtual hearing regarding the case before Judge Koh.
The injunction suspended the Census Bureau’s truncated deadline for ending the headcount on September 30. In response to yesterday's statement from Secretary of Commerce Ross, Judge Koh ordered the Trump administration to release all internal documents related to its decision to set October 5 as a "target date" by 10:00 a.m. PT today.
Meeta Anand, Census 2020 Senior Fellow for the New York Immigration Coalition, issued the following statement in response to the new “target date.”
“The 2020 Census is still alive despite the Trump administration’s repeated attempts to manipulate the count to bolster their xenophobic agenda. Here in New York, we don’t back down from a Tweet. This last-ditch effort won't deter us from using every available hour to ensure that every New Yorker and every person—regardless of legal status, age, or country of origin—residing in this state is counted. Congress must act to save the Census. A shortened Census will lead to skewed census results for the next ten years, and Congress would not be able to allocate vital federal assistance to help all of our communities. New Yorkers will need these resources and political power to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild our economy reflective of our vibrant and diverse communities.”