Supreme Court’s dismissal of Trump census challenge angers advocates: ‘This is outrageous’

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a lawsuit surrounding the Trump administration’s attempt to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the once-in-a-decade census count, deeming the case unripe and “premature” for judicial review.

“At present, this case is riddled with contingencies and speculation that impede judicial review,” the justices said in an opinion. “The policy may not prove feasible to implement in any manner whatsoever.”

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, called the court’s dismissal of the case “reckless.”

“This is outrageous,” Gonzalez said in a statement. “The Supreme Court should have simply ended President Trump’s destructive efforts to tear away representation from our immigrant communities. Taking a wait-and-see approach is irresponsible. Immigrants, and their home states like California, deserve a full count and adequate representation.”

While the court’s latest ruling leaves Trump free to pursue his policy, it is unclear whether he has enough time to act. Any action would likely lead to another lawsuit.

UCLA law professor Laura E. Gómez said the Court’s dismissal should be considered a victory for California.

“It is, I think, the best outcome that was possible … given the conservative majority on the Court,” Gómez said.

The Supreme Court taking a cautious approach to the case, she said, punts the issue to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden who is not expected to pursue the matter.

Samuel Molina, California state director of the Latino civic engagement organization Mi Familia Vota, said undocumented immigrants contribute to the country’s workforce and pay taxes.

“The Supreme Court has a responsibility to ensure the rights of immigrants are also upheld,” Molina said. “If the Trump administration is able to actually implement this rule it would hurt California.”

The case surrounds a July memorandum issued by the Trump administration. The memo instructed Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base, used to assign the number of congressional representatives each state receives.

California responded to the memo with a lawsuit, joined by the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland and the Los Angeles Unified School District. The lawsuit argued California, which is home to more than 2 million undocumented immigrants, was subject to lose political influence and federal funding tied to the census.

Since 1790, the lawsuit argues, the U.S. census count has included all residents regardless of their citizenship or immigration status.

In his dissenting opinion, Clinton-appointee Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote that the Trump administration’s departure from census protocol “is an open invitation to use discretion to increase an electoral advantage.”

During oral arguments heard by The Supreme Court last month, several justices, including Trump-appointee Justice Amy Coney Barrett, raised questions about President Donald Trump’s discretion to exclude undocumented immigrants.

Arturo Vargas, CEO of the NALEO Educational Fund, expressed disappointment in the Supreme Court and said an undercount of Latinos, who account for 78% of the state’s undocumented population, would lead to a “failed” census count.

“While we are disappointed that the Supreme Court failed to rule on the merits in this case, we are confident that the language of the Constitution will prevail if and when this matter returns to the Court,” Vargas said in a statement. “Should the matter return to the Court, it should rule against the Administration.”

California has 53 congressional seats. Demographers estimate that California will lose one seat due to population change after the census. With the exclusion of undocumented immigrants, the state could stand up to two more seats.

Excluding undocumented immigrants from the apportionment base is the latest challenge from the Trump administration to alter census protocols, following a failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census last year.

This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 12:48 PM.