Governor Murphy, AG Grewal, and Secretary Way Respond to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Census Citizenship Question

TRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal, and Secretary of State Tahesha Way responded today to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that rejected a decision by the Trump Administration to include a citizenship question in the 2020 U.S. Census.

In an opinion issued this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Department of Commerce, et al. v. State of New York, et al., a case in which the State of New Jersey and other plaintiffs challenged the Trump Administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the Census. In a mixed ruling, the Supreme Court agreed with New Jersey and other plaintiffs that the reasons given by the federal government for its action were “contrived”—that the Trump Administration misled the American public. The court will send the issue back to the Department of Commerce to reconsider its action.

“The Supreme Court has done the right thing by refusing to blindly go along with the Trump Administration’s politically motivated addition of a citizenship question to next year’s Census,” said Governor Murphy.  “The addition of such a question would be nothing more than an attempt to intimidate immigrant communities and reduce federal funding and political representation for diverse states like New Jersey.  The Supreme Court’s decision will give the Department of Commerce an additional opportunity to justify its decision, meaning that this fight is far from over.  While the final outcome is still unknown, my administration will continue to pursue all avenues to oppose a citizenship question and will always stand up for the right of all New Jersey residents to be fairly and accurately counted.”

Attorney General Grewal and Secretary Way agreed.

“The Supreme Court just confirmed what we’ve said all along: the Trump Administration misled all of America with ‘contrived’ reasons for adding a citizenship question to the Census,” Attorney General Grewal added.“This is a big win, but we need to keep up the fight to ensure that everyone counts.”

“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision today. Regardless of the eventual outcome, I strongly encourage all New Jersey residents to participate in the Census,” said Secretary Way. “Our residents’ responses to the Census will determine how much federal funding New Jersey receives for the next decade. A complete count that accounts for everyone in New Jersey will secure fairer Congressional representation and our fair share of billions of dollars in federal funding.”