Trump ordered not to take into account illegal immigrants in the US census: why is it bad

On Tuesday, July 21, Donald Trump signed a memorandum directing the US Census Bureau to exclude undocumented immigrants from the general population, which determines how many congressional seats each state gets. This is an unprecedented move that looks like an attempt to preserve the political power of whites. The Guardian.

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The American Civil Liberties Union immediately said it would sue. The Trump administration appears to be resting on shaky legal ground - the US Constitution requires that congressional seats be allocated based on the "total number of persons" counted in each state during each decennial census. The Constitution gives Congress the power to conduct the census (although Congress has since delegated some of this power to the executive branch).

In recent years, Republicans have been pushing for the exclusion of non-citizens and other ineligibles from the voters used to delineate constituencies. In 2015, Thomas Hofeller, the chief Republican expert on redistribution, bluntly stated that such a change "would benefit Republicans and non-Hispanic whites."

A White House memorandum entitled “Removing illegal aliens from the distribution base after the 2020 census” argues that the term “person” in the constitution does mean “resident,” and that the president is free to define what that means. The memo also argues that the ability to take into account illegal immigrants encourages states in which many undocumented immigrants live.

“My administration will not support congressional representation for aliens who enter or remain in this country illegally because it would create perverse incentives and undermine our system of government,” Trump said in a statement. “Just as we don’t give political power to people who are here temporarily, we shouldn’t give political power to people who shouldn’t be here in the first place.”

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, said the House would "vigorously challenge" the order.

“By seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census count, the President is violating the Constitution and the rule of law,” Pelosi said in a statement.

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The White House's interpretation is likely to be vigorously challenged in court. Experts say the idea of ​​illegal immigration did not exist when the constitution was written. Early immigration to America was relatively free and open. The US Customs and Immigration Service reports that the federal government began regulating this issue in the 19th century.

“If these are the best arguments they have, they are doomed to fail,” said Thomas Wolf, a lawyer at the Brennan Center for Justice who works on census issues. “There is no way to get around the fundamental mandate of the Constitution that requires everyone to be counted.”

Wolf suggested that the Trump administration may be trying to create uncertainty or confusion among immigrants who are already wary of participating in the census.

It is unclear how the Trump administration will exclude undocumented people from the ten-year census that is being conducted right now and does not include questions about citizenship. This decision does not directly affect the day-to-day conduct of the current census, which is already facing serious challenges from Covid-19. But it is likely to cause more headaches for officials and supporters trying to convince Americans that it is safe to participate in the census. Especially after the Trump administration unsuccessfully tried to add a citizenship question to the census last year, saying the data was necessary to enforce the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court refused to allow this question to be added, stating that the rationale "appears to have been invented." But lawyers said they still face hurdles convincing immigrants that the census can be trusted, which should keep information secret for 72 years. Many families can be of mixed immigration status, and the Trump administration's efforts could make these people fearful to participate. The administration has instructed federal agencies to use existing federal documents to determine citizenship status. The Census Bureau also began collecting some of the driver's license records.

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About 10,5 million illegal immigrants live in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center. Many Republican-friendly states, such as Texas, Florida and Georgia, are home to significant numbers of illegal immigrants, and Trump's decree could negatively impact residents.

“The Constitution requires that the census count all residents of the United States. President Trump doesn't get to choose it, said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, which argued the citizenship issue before the Supreme Court. “His latest attempt to use the census to attack immigrant communities will be ruled unconstitutional.” We will see him in court and we will win again."

While Republicans argue that counting the entire population based on constituencies weakens the influence of eligible voters, a fundamental part of American democracy has long been that elected officials must serve roughly the same number of voters, regardless of whether those voters can vote. or not.

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