Press Room

July 24, 2020

Earthjustice Condemns Trump Administration’s Unconstitutional Census Power Grab

Proposal to exclude undocumented immigrants “a hateful distraction” from COVID-19 pandemic

Contacts

Keith Rushing, Earthjustice, (757) 897-2147

Washington, D.C. —

Earthjustice Senior Vice President of Programs Sam Sankar condemned the Trump administration’s memo ordering undocumented immigrants excluded from the 2020 Census:

“The Trump administration’s attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census count is just another hateful attempt to distract public attention from the pandemic and calls for racial justice. The Fourteenth Amendment couldn’t be more clear about this: representation in Congress is based on ‘the whole number of persons in each State.’ Refusing to count undocumented immigrants is therefore an illegal attempt to dehumanize, delegitimize, and disempower them.

“We stand in solidarity with our immigrant rights, civil rights, and Latinx rights partners in condemning this memo. Everyone should be counted in the 2020 Census. It’s the law.”

Advocates gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the court heard oral arguments on Apr. 23, 2019, in Washington, D.C., on the proposed U.S. citizenship question on the 2020 Census.
Advocates gathered outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the court heard oral arguments on Apr. 23, 2019, in Washington, D.C., on the proposed U.S. citizenship question on the 2020 Census. The Supreme Court upheld the ruling of a lower court, barring the question. (Win McNamee / Getty Images)

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