Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on Trump Effort to Erase Undocumented Immigrants from Census to Skew Congressional Apportionment

The U.S. Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in Trump v. New York, challenging the Trump Administration's attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count when apportioning congressional Representatives.

"Common Cause believes that the Supreme Court must act before the dagger is in the heart of our Constitution. The Administration has made clear its intention to erase millions of people from the census and has engaged in multiple steps to advance its plot to sabotage the Census count," said Kathay Feng, Common Cause National Redistricting Director. "We are counting on the Supreme Court to protect our most vulnerable families and our constitution."

"Americans expect and deserve fairness and accuracy in the census. The United States Constitution guarantees an apportionment that counts all persons, regardless of immigration status," said Keshia Morris Desir, Census Manager of Common Cause. "Three lower courts have recognized that the memo is a clear violation of the United States Constitution and we are hopeful the Supreme Court will uphold those rulings."

As it did in Common Cause et al. v. Trump, the government once again relied on an argument of uncertainty over how the Administration would apply the memorandum's instruction to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment counts to argue that the Supreme Court should punt a decision until later. Several justices expressed frustration with the government's inability to provide clarity on its method or estimate of who would be excluded, with less than 30 days until the deadline for production of Census Apportionment numbers.

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