Another court battle over whether illegal aliens will be included in the 2020 Census is on the way to the U.S. Supreme Court after a federal judge ruled that President Trump's executive order to block those people from being counted is unconstitutional. Late Thursday, the ruling against the Trump Administration was announced in City of San Jose, California v. Trump and an appeal that order came on Friday.
The League of Women Voters filed what is called an amicus brief with the court in support of the plaintiffs in the case, which include California, Texas, and Florida.
"The League of Women Voters is gratified by today's decision to uphold this country's promise to count every person living in the United States," said Dr. Deborah Ann Turner, board president of the League. "Important decisions in this nation regarding everyday services and strategic community planning require an accurate count of every individual. Critical decisions such as what infrastructure is needed, how many schools does a community need, where should hospitals be located depend on the number of people to be served. That's why the Constitution requires that we count everyone. An undercount of our census in one community hurts all communities."
"Today's decision affirms the value of our immigrant communities in California," said Stephanie Doute, executive director of the League of Women Voters of California. "Every single community in our state—and indeed in the entire country—benefits from the hard work of undocumented individuals in California." She insists that not counting undocumented people from California's count is wrong and also fails to accurately represent the state's diverse population."
A similar case out of New York is also set to be considered by the high court at the end of November.