“If this policy is ever actually implemented,” Mr. Ho said, “we’ll be right back in court challenging it.”The practical effect of the ruling may be limited because Census Bureau officials have said they may not be able to produce data on unauthorized immigrants before Mr. Trump leaves office. Mr. Wall indicated that the Census Bureau does have good data on the tens of thousands of unauthorized immigrants held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but that number is almost certainly too small to change apportionment. He was less certain that the bureau could match records concerning people subject to orders of removal, young immigrants known as Dreamers or other categories of unauthorized immigrants. The Constitution requires congressional districts to be apportioned “counting the whole number of persons in each state,” using information from the census. In July, Mr. Trump issued a memo taking a new approach.

Source: New York Times December 18, 2020 15:38 UTC