Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a lawsuit on Aug. 18 against the Trump administration, challenging the federal government’s attempt to drastically cut the amount of time for the 2020 census count.

The lawsuit contends that a decision by the administration to reduce the amount of time to collect and process data would result in a severe undercount of the city’s population, negatively affecting Los Angeles’ representation in Congress and jeopardizing millions of dollars in federal funding. Feuer previously sent a demand letter to the U.S. Census Bureau over the decision.

“We’re suing to block the Trump administration from unconstitutionally abandoning a plan to obtain an accurate census in the midst of a devastating pandemic,” Feuer said. “From political representation to crucial public funding, every L.A. resident has so much riding on a full, fair and complete count. The administration’s abrupt, inexplicable and unlawful reversal would harm Angelenos for the next decade. It must not stand.”

Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Census Bureau shifted the deadlines for critical operations by several months so that it could obtain a reasonable level of accuracy despite the challenges presented by the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the U.S. Census Bureau abruptly changed course and said it will compress a planned eight-and-a-half month period for collecting and processing data into a four-and-a-half month period.

Feuer’s lawsuit was filed in partnership with the National Urban League; League of Women Voters; Black Alliance for Just Immigration; Harris County, Texas; King County, Washington; the cities of Salinas and San Jose in California; Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia. It asks the court to prohibit implementation of the condensed plan, thereby restoring the longer plan.

The complaint alleges that the federal government’s plan to shorten the amount of time to collect and process data poses a grave threat to vital local government functions that rely on census data, from reapportioning the United States House of Representatives and redrawing state and local electoral districts, to equitably distributing over $1.5 trillion annually in federal funds that support food, health care and education. The lawsuit seeks declaratory relief affirming that the Trump administration’s actions violate the Enumeration Clause and the Administrative Procedure Act. The plaintiffs additionally seek a restoration of the administration’s previous COVID-19 Plan, allowing the bureau to conduct the 2020 census on the timeline it has repeatedly asserted is necessary for a full, fair and accurate count.

For information, visit lacityattorney.org.