In a surprise win for the Trump administration, the US Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to President Trumps decision to exclude illegal immigrants from the 2020 US Census, thus excluding them from being counted in congressional re-apportionment.
In a 6-3 decision, the High Court threw out the challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the State of New York. The lawsuit sought to force the Trump administration to include illegal aliens and other non-citizens normally not counted in the official US citizenship from congressional apportionment counts.
Congressional re-apportionment, which happens after each census, mandates how many lawmakers represent each state in Congress.
The majority of Supreme Court Justices issued an unsigned opinion statement which ruled the challenge brought forth by the ACLU and New York as “premature.” They ruled so saying it is unclear how it would affect the counts and what the impact would be on various states’ representation.
“At the end of the day, the standing and ripeness inquiries both lead to the conclusion that judicial resolution of this dispute is premature. Consistent with our determination that standing has not been shown and that the case is not ripe, we express no view on the merits of the constitutional and related statutory claims presented. We hold only that they are not suitable for adjudication at this time,” the unsigned opinion read, in part.
“The judgment of the District Court is vacated,” the ruling continued, “and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.”
#SCOTUS blocks challenge to Trump admin plan to exclude illegal immigrants from censushttps://t.co/NTE06TsLNB
— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) December 18, 2020
The three justices that are considered Left-leaning on the High Court – Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan – signed and issued a dissent saying the effort should be considered unconstitutional.
“Because I believe plaintiffs’ claims are justiciable, ripe for review, and meritorious, I would affirm the lower court’s holding,” Breyer wrote in the dissent. “I respectfully dissent.”