Supreme Court allows census trial to proceed

Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to halt a lawsuit against the Trump administration's plans to include a question about citizenship status on the 2020 census.

The decision means the lawsuit, brought by 18 states and the American Civil Liberties Union, will go to trial Monday.

The plaintiffs said the citizenship question is an intimidation tactic to discourage immigrants from responding. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, though, said censuses have asked about citizenship in some form for more than 100 years.

The Trump administration sought to halt the case, saying the plaintiffs wanted to improperly depose Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross about why he sought to add the question to the census form.

Not all justices revealed how they voted on the case, but Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito Jr. and Neil Gorsuch each said they would have delayed the trial.