June 27, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement blasting the Supreme Court ruling blocking a citizenship question on the Census:
“In light of the Roberts decision to inject the Supreme Court into any changes to questions on Census forms, which are routine, it is incumbent upon the Department of Commerce to delay printing of those forms. In the meantime, let Roberts spends July vacation determining what a proper rationale for an additional question on citizenship is, which has been used in 12 out of 15 Censuses since 1870. Perhaps Roberts would consider this fact: Federal spending to the states is largely based on population, and federal law prohibits people who are not in the U.S. legally from obtaining welfare. We were also assured by President Obama that Obamacare would not apply to those here illegally. The federal government knows how many people are in the U.S. legally through the normal immigration naturalization process.
“Should the federal government know how many citizens are in a state, it is simple math to restrict funding in those areas that like welfare and health care Congress has determined are for citizens and legal residents only. This is just one compelling interest for having a citizenship question, so that the executive branch can enforce the laws that Congress has passed on eligibility for federal benefits. It is not John Roberts’ role to write Census questions, and his precedent equating each Census question to a regulatory change under the Administrative Procedures Act is disastrous across the federal government, as any changes to any form no matter how innocuous may now be subject to judicial review.
“If John Roberts wanted to be an administrative law judge, that’s the job he should have applied for, but injecting the Supreme Court as the judge of any changes made to any form in the federal government is an absurd abuse of power.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org
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