A second federal judge has struck down a decision by the Trump administration to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 US Census, ruling that it threatens "the very foundation of our democratic system."

US District Judge Richard Seeborg of the Northern District of California found the citizenship question unconstitutional in defiance of the Enumeration Clause - also known as the Census Clause.

Notably, unlike Judge Furman's ruling in New York, Judge Seeborg found the citizenship question unconstitutional in defiance of the Enumeration Clause.



It's a far more sweeping victory for the challengers. — Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) March 6, 2019

Judge finds citizenship question violates Enumeration Clause--a question that appeared on census in past. "The constitutionality of a particular governmental action may depend on the larger social context in which that action occurs" (citing Grutter) https://t.co/5RhVMpXi11 pic.twitter.com/bilzugK96I — Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) March 6, 2019

Because it was ruled unconstitutional, Wednesday's ruling is far more legally significant than a January decision by a New York federal judge to strike down the citizenship, ruling that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross violated the Administrative Procedure Act while deciding to add the question to the survey.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a hearing about the New York ruling on April 23.