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US court rejects Trump bid to exclude illegal immigrants from census
NEW YORK, Sept 11, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A federal court in New York on Thursday
rejected a bid by President Donald Trump to exclude undocumented migrants
from the US census, a setback for the president who has long touted his fight
against illegal immigration.
The census counts every person in the country every 10 years, as the basis
for determining representation in the 435-seat House of Representatives.
In July Trump gave the unprecedented order to exclude illegal immigrants
from the population count.
Prosecutors in many states, including New York, quickly challenged the
government’s right to give such an order in court, amid fears it would reduce
the number of such migrants who participated in the census.
On Thursday three federal judges in Manhattan found the government order to
be illegal and a violation of the constitutional mandate to count every
person in the country, according to a written ruling.
“We cannot allow the White House’s constant fearmongering and xenophobia to
stop us from being counted,” New York State Attorney Letitia James said in a
statement Thursday, hailing the ruling as “another major victory.”
The Supreme Court ruled last year that the government’s decision to ask for
the citizenship of census participants, a question that had not been asked
for more than 60 years, was illegal.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0911 hrs