After an attempt to add a citizenship question failed the US President has signed an executive order to exclude undocumented persons from being counted in the 2020 census
One year after the US supreme court blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to this year’s census, an executive order was signed by the president on the grounds that for the purpose of the reapportionment of representatives following the 2020 census, it is US policy to exclude from the apportionment persons who do not have lawful immigration status under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The decision is likely to be challenged. The American Civil Liberties Union has already stated that it intends to file a lawsuit against the administration over the order and many legal commentators immediately noted that the provisions of the order are contrary to the US constitution which calls for the counting of all persons regardless of citizenship.
On a practical level, it is uncertain how the Trump administration plans to implement the order as the census is presently underway. Some view it as a ploy to discourage undocumented immigrants, already reluctant to submit their data for fear of reprisal, from taking part.
If successfully implemented the order could cause areas with large numbers of undocumented persons such as Texas, Florida and Georgia to lose funding and government representation.
