Supreme Court set to hear arguments on Trump plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from census – By Pete Williams (NBC News) / Nov 29 2020
The president is trying to “punish” immigrant-rich states, said N.Y.’s attorney general, who is suing the administration.
WASHINGTON — If the Trump administration gets its way, some states would give up a seat or two in Congress and many more would lose millions of dollars in federal grants under a census plan the Supreme Court reviews Monday.
The justices, who are hearing oral arguments in the case virtually because the court is closed by the coronavirus pandemic, will decide whether President Donald Trump has the authority to send Congress a census report that excludes undocumented migrants, a move that would shift money and political power away from states with large immigrant populations.
The Constitution requires a census every 10 years. The results determine how many members of Congress every state gets in the House of Representatives. The data also are used to calculate local governments’ share of $1.5 trillion under many federal programs.
In July, Trump said people who are undocumented should not be included in the final count. Under his plan, the Census Bureau would report two sets of figures to the White House — one including everyone who is counted and another allowing him to leave out undocumented immigrants. Trump could then report the smaller number to Congress for use in reapportionment.
