The judge in San Francisco called the government's move arbitrary and said it would violate a constitutional requirement that the census count everyone in the country. Luis Vera of San Antonio is the national general Council with LULAC.
"When you ask that specific citizenship question, it just scares people. A lot of people will not answer the question, people won't answer the door. People won't tell you how many people are actually in the household. They are not going to tell the truth."
He says the Census is actual people. "That's the important thing. So you'll know how many people actually live in the United States. Document status doesn't matter. The constitution wasn't set up that way."
Vera says it's a great ruling, but he expects the Trump administration to appeal. "Donald Trump started his battle on immigrants since day one. When he was campaigning his entire war has been against immigrants, primarily Mexican citizens.
A federal judge in New York had previously blocked the question. The U.S. Supreme Court last month agreed to review that decision.
The AP has learned that as Supreme Court weighs the question, the Census Bureau is already seeking legal status data.