WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court refused Friday to delay a trial set to begin next week challenging the Trump administration's intention to add a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census.

The action was a defeat for the Justice Department, which claimed the trial would distract government officials from their jobs. Many state and local governments, on the other hand, sought to move the case forward in hopes of blocking the citizenship question.

Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented, indicating they would have halted the trial at the administration's request. It was not clear how the other justices voted.

The court gave both sides a partial victory last week when it said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did not have to give a deposition before the trial, but other federal officials could be questioned out of court. Thomas and Gorsuch dissented over Ross, calling it an "inquisition."

The municipalities and their allies in the immigration rights community want to expose the government's motives for asking about citizenship. They claim it will discourage undocumented immigrants from being counted. The administration says its goal is to enforce voting rights laws.

The court's decisions on the matter could affect the political and financial clout of immigrant communities for the next decade.

Federal district and appeals court judges had approved the depositions and green-lighted the trial, now set to start Monday.

Dale Ho, had this reaction to today’s Supreme Court action:

“We are pleased the Supreme Court rejected this Hail Mary attempt to stop the trial from moving forward," said Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project. "We’ll see the Trump administration in court on Monday.”

Ross announced the addition of the citizenship question in March, but it has been tied up in court ever since. The government has not asked about individuals' citizenship on the Census since 1950.

Opponents, including California, New York, the American Civil Liberties Union and immigration rights groups, contend fears of deportation among undocumented immigrants will cause them to be undercounted.

That could have two detrimental effects in immigrant communities. Areas with large immigrant populations, which tend to be urban and vote Democratic, could lose seats in the House of Representatives. They also could lose federal, state and local funds used for public works and social service projects.

Ross initially said the Justice Department reinstated the citizenship question as a means of enforcing the Voting Rights Act. It was later revealed that he made the decision himself and asked Justice Department officials to back him up, despite their reluctance.

And the government recently acknowledged in court papers "for the sake of completeness" that Ross discussed the plan with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, former White House strategist Steve Bannon, and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a leading proponent of crackdowns on alleged voter fraud.

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