A group of plaintiffs who have been challenging the citizenship question on the 2020 census filed a motion for an order to show cause Thursday based on newly discovered evidence.

According to evidence recovered off the hard drive of Dr. Thomas Hofeller, the plaintiffs allege that the citizenship question was created with a discriminatory purpose in mind. Hofeller is a Republican redistricting specialist who was involved in the creation of the citizenship question. The evidence from his hard drive purports to show that the citizenship question was created because it would be “clearly a disadvantage for Democrats” and “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic Whites” in redistricting. With this evidence the plaintiffs are requesting sanctions or appropriate relief from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, which is currently responsible for the case.

The citizenship question has been claimed by the administration to be unbiased, but many think that it will negatively impact potential responses to the census particularly from Latin American communities. There is a fear that Immigration and Customs Enforcement will use responses from the citizenship question and the census in order to execute further arrests and deportation.