(CNN) – The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an attempt to challenge President Donald Trump’s plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the count when congressional seats are split between states next year.
The court ruled that a coalition of New York-led states and immigrant rights groups contesting the plan did not suffer the legal damage needed to bring the case, because the government has not yet announced who wants to ban them.
The three Liberal magistrates disagreed with the opinion and the issue is likely to re-appear at a later date.
Friday’s ruling is a narrow victory for Trump, obliterating a lower court opinion that went against him, but he still has roadblocks. Census officials have indicated that they struggle to process the census responses in time to produce the final census before the year-end date.
If the numbers are ready after January 20, President-elect Joe Biden has already suggested he would work to reverse Trump’s order.