The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that tried to prevent President Donald Trump from excluding undocumented migrants from the 2020 census, something that would affect representation in Congress and federal funds earmarked for the states.
In a 6 to 3 decision, in which the conservative majority of the court was victorious, the magistrates determined that “at the end of the day the investigations based on (the plaintiffs) and the duration (of the case) lead to the conclusion that the judicial solution to this (…) is premature “, the document of the Court read.
In the same decision, however, the judges seem to recognize that the idea of excluding undocumented migrants does not apply.
“For one thing, the policy may not be enforceable in any way, let alone in a way that could significantly harm the plaintiffs here … Everyone is now agreed that the government cannot enforceably implement the memorandum without it. the 10.5 million foreigners without legal status, “said the majority.
The constitution requires a census of the “full number of people” living in the country every 10 years. That is then used to determine the size of constituencies for parliamentary representation in Congress.
Traditionally, that includes the number of people living permanently in the country, regardless of their legal status.
The dissent
In his dissenting opinion, Judge Stephen Breyer stated on his behalf and the other two Liberal judges, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, that the case was now ready for a decision.
“The clear significance of government statutes, decades of historical practice, and consistent interpretations by all three branches of government show that aliens with no legal status cannot be excluded from the decennial census just because of that status,” Breyer said.
“The government’s attempt to take them out of the key is illegal and I think this court should say that.”
Dale Ho, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), assured himself in statements The New York Times that the “ruling does not endorse President Trump’s goal of excluding undocumented immigrants from the census.”
“This Supreme Court decision is only about timing, not merits.”
