The Supreme Court hears oral arguments today in a case challenging the Trump administration’s plans to include a question on citizenship on the 2020 census. Justices will rule on whether Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had the authority to add the question to the census. The American Civil Liberties Union and 17 states have sued, saying Ross’s move was aimed at deterring immigrants from participating in the census, leading to a vast undercount in states with large immigrant communities. This is journalist Ari Berman speaking with Democracy Now! last Election Day.

Ari Berman: “The census is basically the DNA of our democracy. It determines so many things that we do, from how $675 billion in federal funding is distributed to how political districts are drawn to how many electoral votes states get. And if the census is rigged, then all of American democracy will be rigged, as well.”