Leagues of Women Voters oppose Trump bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from census

The New York, Texas and Florida chapters of the League of Women Voters filed an amicus brief opposing President Donald Trump’s bid to exclude undocumented immigrants from census data used to apportion House seats.

“By excluding undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base, the Presidential Memorandum undermines trust in the Constitutional promise of representative democracy,” Blaine Green, lead counsel on the case from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. “As we explain in our amicus brief for the League of Women Voters, the Supreme Court should find the Memorandum violates the Constitution and federal statutory law.”

Trump in July issued an executive memorandum commanding the Census Bureau to exclude undocumented immigrants from its count, a move that could shift some House seats to red states.

Courts have so far blocked the move. Most recently, a three-judge panel in California’s northern district said the plan would violate federal laws governing the census and the 14th amendment.

In September, a separate three-judge panel in the Southern District of New York, blocked Trump’s maneuver without citing constitutional reasons.