President Donald Trump signed a memorandum calling for undocumented people to be excluded from being counted toward congressional representation after the 2020 Census on July 21, 2020. This move is a deliberate attempt at political gain at the expense of the accuracy and legitimacy of the census.
The Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to reapportion congressional seats by “counting the whole number of persons in each state” every 10 years. Congress also uses the Census results to distribute trillions of federal dollars, and state and local governments use the data to redraw voting districts.
This illegal action will be swiftly met with a legal challenge. The census determines how political power is distributed within states, so it must be done right.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) has long advocated for protecting the integrity of the 2020 Census. In light of the Trump Administration’s actions, CLC has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to help the public understand what led to the government’s decision.
