ACLU Comment on Federal Court Ruling Blocking Trump Anti-Immigrant Census Order

NEW YORK — A federal court has blocked President Trump’s order seeking to keep undocumented immigrants from being counted in the U.S. census.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, New York Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Texas, ACLU of Southern California, and Arnold & Porter.

Plaintiffs are the New York Immigration Coalition, Make the Road New York, CASA, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, ADC Research Institute, FIEL Houston, and AHRI for Justice.

The groups were in court last week for arguments before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District Court in New York.

The lawsuit challenged “President Trump’s lawless attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from the ‘persons’ who must be counted in the census for purposes of apportioning congressional seats to states.”

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, argued the case and had the following reaction to today's ruling:

“This is a huge victory for voting rights and for immigrants' rights. President Trump has tried and failed yet again to weaponize the census against immigrant communities. The law is clear — every person counts in the census.”

The lawsuit, New York Immigration Coalition v. Trump, was filed in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.

Ruling: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/order-census-decision

Case details: https://www.aclu.org/cases/new-york-immigration-coalition-v-trump