A federal court just blocked Trump’s attempt to use the census to undermine immigrants’ political power – By Nicole Narea (VOX) / Sept 10 2020
Trump had tried to exclude unauthorized immigrants from 2020 census counts used to draw congressional districts.
A federal court in New York struck down a presidential memorandum on Thursday that would have excluded unauthorized immigrants living in the US from census population counts for the purposes of redrawing congressional districts in 2021 — a transparent attack on their political power.
Most states currently draw congressional districts, determining the areas that each elected official represents based on total population, including unauthorized immigrants. Current maps are due to be redrawn across the country in 2021 after the results of the 2020 census come in, and the stakes are high: Each redistricting has a lasting influence on who is likely to win elections, which communities will be represented in Congress, and, ultimately, what laws will be passed.
President Donald Trump’s attempt to exclude unauthorized immigrants would have reduced the counts in areas where foreign-born populations have traditionally settled — primarily Democrat-run cities — and therefore undermined their political power relative to more rural, Republican-run areas. But it could have also impacted red states with large immigrant populations, including Texas.
Continue to article: https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/7/21/21328714/trump-executive-order-immigration-census-2020-redistricting
