Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has asked an Alabama federal judge to allow him to join an ongoing lawsuit to ensure that the 2020 Census includes all residents in its count.
The lawsuit, filed by the State of Alabama and Alabama Congressman Morris Brooks last year, seeks to force the federal government to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count, claiming that including them in the count would potentially result in the state losing congressional representation and federal funds to other states. Ferguson says the Constitution is clear in that the census must be an ‘actual enumeration’ of the ‘whole number of persons’ in the United States.”
In December, U.S. District Court Judge David Proctor criticized the federal government’s defense in the case as “rather halfhearted.” The court wrote that it was “concerned that the federal government has overlooked” key arguments against Alabama’s lawsuit.
Ferguson and 15 other attorneys general, in addition to nine cities and counties, including Seattle, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, are seeking to join the case to ensure that the census is adequately defended.
Earlier this year, Ferguson successfully blocked the Trump Administration’s attempts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, which the Census Bureau’s own research found would depress participation in the census. (Washington AG’s Office)
