California continues trying to block the Trump Administration from keeping illegal immigrants out of the U.S. Census count. The case is now before the Supreme Court of the United States as the Administration attempts to avoid including people in the country illegally as part of the formula that gives states a certain number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra is being joined by a coalition that includes the cities of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland, as well as the Los Angeles Unified School District, and the County of Los Angeles in filing with the court a legal brief against the change in the counting procedure.
In that brief, the coalition once again asserts that the President is trying to prevent a complete and accurate census count. They call that "patently unconstitutional" and claim that the State of California and its local governments have standing to challenge the President's actions in this situation.
"For hundreds of years, the U.S. Constitution has been clear: everyone counts," said Becerra in the brief. "Here in California, we know that fundamental value extends beyond the census. No matter the color of your skin or where you come from, you count. The President doesn't have the authority to say otherwise. It’s in our laws and, as a nation of immigrants, it's part of who we are. We're going to keep fighting to protect that and make sure all Californians are able to make their voices heard."
Acting U.S. Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall insisted the fight is over substance and how much leeway is given to the president. He said catching someone at the border one day and then treating them as a resident the next day goes against common sense. The Constitution says apportionment should count "the whole number of persons in each state." However, President Trump sought to change that in a memo issued this past July.
Becerra counters by saying that the President’s memorandum expressly singles out California, predicting that the state will lose more than one congressional seat under the President's policy. Upholding the memorandum would dilute the state's political representation at the federal level and harm Californians' ability to make their voices heard.
New York Solicitor General Barbara Underwood is weighing in on the immigration battle. She says the memo treats counting people as a reward that shouldn't be given to states that happen to have illegal immigrants living there. Underwood insisted the government can't declare an illegal immigrant gone when they're in the country and likely to stay. Underwood added that a person's undocumented status doesn't take away the fact that they're here.