Supreme Court To Decide Fate of Trump Policy Keeping Illegal Aliens Out of Census Count
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to take up President Donald Trump’s policy, blocked by a lower court, to exclude illegal immigrants from the census count.
A three-judge federal court ruled in September that the policy is illegal.
The justices put the case on a fast track, setting arguments for Nov. 30.
A decision is expected by the end of the year or early in January, when Trump has to report census numbers to the House.
Trump’s high court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, could take part in the case if, as seems likely, she is confirmed by then.
Last year, the court by a 5-4 vote barred Trump from adding a census question asking people about their citizenship.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month, was part of that slim majority. Barrett would take Ginsburg’s seat.
“President Trump has repeatedly tried — and failed — to weaponize the census for his attacks on immigrant communities. The Supreme Court rejected his attempt last year and should do so again,” according to American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Dale Ho, representing a coalition of immigrant advocacy groups that challenged Trump’s policy in court.
Trump left it to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the Census Bureau, to figure out how many immigrants are living illegally in each state.
The outcome of the census determines how House seats — and Electoral College votes — are allocated among states. The census also helps determine the distribution of $1.5 trillion in federal funding annually.
The administration told the court that the president retains “discretion to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment based on their immigration status.”
The Supreme Court separately allowed the administration to end the census this week, blocking a court order that would have kept the count going until the end of the month.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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