Why is this important? In the past, counting illegal immigrants quite possibly led to over-representation in Congress for certain Democratic strongholds.
In other words, adding this question to could do serious damage to the Democrats hope to control the House of Representatives in the future.
Reuters reporter Lawrence Hurley tweeted out: “NEW- Supreme Court census argument has concluded: the conservative majority appears untroubled by Trump administration’s bid to add a citizenship question
Chief Justice: “quite common” for demographic questions to be asked in the census
Kavanaugh: “very common” in other countries for citizenship question to be asked.”
From Bloomberg:
Key U.S. Supreme Court justices seemed inclined to let the Trump administration add a question about citizenship to the 2020 census in a clash that will shape the allocation of congressional seats and federal dollars.
Hearing arguments in Washington, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh directed almost all their questions to the lawyers challenging the decision to ask about citizenship. Kavanaugh said Congress gave the Commerce secretary “huge discretion” to decide what to ask on the census.
The case is the court’s first direct look at an administration initiative since the justices upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban last year. It is testing the court’s willingness to defer to an administration that critics say has a penchant for cutting legal corners.
From Reuters:
The U.S. Constitution mandates a census every 10 years. It is used in the allocation of seats in Congress, the drawing of political boundaries, and the distribution of billions of dollars in federal funds. A citizenship question has not appeared on the census form since 1950.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by state and local Democratic officials, was filed in April in federal court in New York. It is consolidated with another suit by several immigrant rights groups accusing the government of discrimination against non-white immigrants in violation of the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law.
Chief Justice: "quite common" for demographic questions to be asked in the census— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) 23 aprile 2019
Kavanaugh: "very common" in other countries for citizenship question to be asked
NEW- Supreme Court census argument has concluded: the conservative majority appears untroubled by Trump administration's bid to add a citizenship question— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) 23 aprile 2019
