- A federal judge ordered that the US
Census Bureau temporarily cease easing up on data collection efforts for the 2020 Census. - The order allows the bureau to continue its data collection efforts normally until a court hearing on Sept. 17.
- A plan from administration officials previously cut collection efforts to four months, down from the original eight months, according to the order.
- The results of the Census influence the division of $1.5 trillion in federal funding, as well as determine how many congressional seats each state receives.
A federal judge ordered that the US Census Bureau temporarily cease easing up on data collection efforts for the 2020 Census.
In a temporary restraining order issued Saturday night, US District Judge Lucy Koh moved to block White House officials, like Commerce Secretary
The order puts a pin in a plan that originally instructed the Bureau to wind down data collection operations by September 30. With the order, the Census Bureau can continue to collect data normally until a court hearing on September 17.
Officials within the
The new plan from the Trump administration also pushed for the Census Bureau to stop collection efforts entirely by September 30, which is about a month before the original deadline, the order said.
The order was filed after several civil-rights groups took action against the
The Census is a once-in-a-decade government-run data collection effort whose goal is to count and qualify every person in the United States. The results of the Census influence the division of $1.5 trillion in federal funding, as well as determine how many congressional seats each state receives.
In her order, Koh wrote that inaccurate data collection efforts might lead to "potentially irreparable" harms.
"Because the decennial census is at issue here, an inaccurate count would not be remedied for another decade, which would affect the distribution of federal and state funding, the deployment of services, and the allocation of local resources for a decade," Koh wrote.
The Commerce Department did not respond to Insider's request for comment.
The Census Bureau, when reached for comment, directed Insider to a statement, which said, "The Census Bureau and the Commerce Department are obligated to comply with the Court's Order and are taking immediate steps to do so."
The Bureau will release "additional guidance" at a later time, the statement said.