US judge halts winding down of 2020 count by Census Bureau

Jurisdictions and rights groups accuse the Trump administration of expediting the process to undercount some groups. The US Census Bureau must suspend winding down operations, which it has done to expedite the 2020 count of US residents, according to a federal judge’s order. US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose late on Saturday issued a temporary restraining order against the Census Bureau and the Commerce Department, which oversees the agency. ‘Attempted short-circuiting’ More than a half dozen other lawsuits have been filed in tandem across the country, challenging Trump’s memorandum as unconstitutional and an attempt to limit the power of Hispanics and immigrants of colour during the important apportionment of congressional seats and funding “The court rightfully recognised the Trump administration’s attempted short-circuiting of our nation’s census as an imminent threat to the completion of a fair and accurate process,” Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, one of the groups that brought the San Jose lawsuit, told The Associated Press news agency. In a message emailed to regional offices and headquarters late on Saturday, the Census Bureau said the statistical agency and the Commerce Department “are obligated to comply with the Court’s Order and are taking immediate steps to do so”.