Court Strikes Trump Admin’s Attempt to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants from Census
The Trump Administration’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census population data was struck down by three judges in a New York federal court on Thursday. The ruling stated the attempt to exclude the undocumented immigrants from the US population count is a direct violation of US laws, further stating excluding people from the census in order to determine congressional seats is also prohibited by law.
The judges made reference to a “Presidential Memorandum” citing any undocumented immigrants residing in a state qualify as “Persons in a State,” and the administration’s attempt to exclude them violates the “governing apportionment” statute.
The state Attorneys General representing a coalition of groups for immigrant rights, including the Civil Liberties Union, said the order was a direct attempt to deny basic human rights to undocumented immigrants and the administration’s directive was “openly and obviously” a clear violation of the US Constitution.
Dale Ho, an ACLU attorney who participated in arguing the case, said the president had tried once again to use the census as a weapon against immigrant communities. The administration’s failure to do so is “a huge victory for voting rights and for immigrants’ rights.”
Ann Sullivan is a contributing staff writer covering national and world news topics. She brings dedicated experience having written international and domestic news, blogs, and web content for over 20 years. She’s also a published poet and graphic designer with degrees in Business and Graphic Communications and has been a music distributor, music industry sponsorship sales director and band manager.