The Supreme Court ruled Thursday against adding a question about citizenship to the US census in a setback for President Donald Trump and victory for critics who say the item would lead to severe undercounts of immigrants.
Chief Justice John Roberts tipped the balance by siding with the court's liberal minority to block the Trump administration bid for the question to be added to its 2020 census.
The 5-4 ruling said the government's arguments were "contrived."
Trump, who is in Japan for the G20 summit, said on Twitter that not having the citizenship question was "totally ridiculous."
The American Civil Liberties Union hailed the decision as "a victory for immigrants and communities of color across America."
In arguments before the justices in April, Solicitor General Noel Francisco said a citizenship question "has been asked as part of the census in one form or another for nearly 200 years."
"There are no legal standards discernible in the Constitution for making such judgments, let alone limited and precise standards that are clear, manageable, and politically neutral."
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