Barry Robinson

Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently came to the realization that, “the murder of George Floyd was a wake-up call …. We know we’re not immune to what is happening in broader society, that society that we serve.” Despite his characterization of this moment in American race relations as a “wake-up call,” the United States armed forces have been mired in a maddening loop of racial disparity with respect to its own military justice system for over half a century.

In a ruling that has surprised many legal observers, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts, dealt the Trump administration a major setback to its efforts to impose a citizenship question on the 2020 Census by sustaining a lower court’s order to remand the issue back to the Commerce Department for further proceedings.

The Supreme Court will imminently decide on whether to uphold the Trump administration's decision to ask all respondents of the 2020 Census, “Is this person a citizen of the United States?” New evidence has recently come to light, suggesting the political and racial motivations behind the question, which will likely frighten non-citizens, especially Hispanics, from responding. The result would lead to an inaccurate count with potentially devastating consequences for the nation's future.