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Headline Roundup November 30th, 2020

Supreme Court Considers Trump Plan To Exclude People Who Are in the U.S. Illegally From the Census

Summary from the AllSides News Team

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the Trump administration can exclude people who are in the U.S. illegally from the census report used to apportion seats in the House of Representatives. The Trump administration is appealing a September ruling by a three-judge panel that blocked it from including the number of people in the country illegally—administrative data from outside the 2020 census—in its official report, as well as from excluding these people from the total population count. A Supreme Court ruling in Trump’s favor could shift House seats, Electoral College votes and federal funding away from states with high populations of people who are in the U.S. illegally. Some coverage on all sides said the Court was “skeptical” of Trump’s plan but reluctant to immediately block it. Coverage in left-rated outlets and some right-rated outlets used the term "undocumented immigrants." Some right-rated outlets used the term "illegal immigrants." Some center-rated outlets used the terms "noncitizens" and "immigrants living in the United States illegally."

Featured Coverage of this Story

A Census Case That Goes to the Heart of American Democracy
A Census Case That Goes to the Heart of American Democracy

New York Times (News)

Analysis

On Monday, the Supreme Court heard arguments on a question that goes to the heart of American democracy: Must the government count everyone living in the country, citizens or not, in the census totals that the House of Representatives uses to reallocate its 435 seats among the states?

For more than two centuries, the answer has been “yes.” Both Article 1 of the Constitution and the 14th Amendment require that House seats be allotted according to “the whole number” of persons in each state. That phrase has long been read...

Open on New York Times (News)
Conservative justices appear reluctant to immediately block Trump immigrant census plan
Conservative justices appear reluctant to immediately block Trump immigrant census plan

Reuters

News

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday appeared reluctant to issue a ruling immediately blocking a plan by President Donald Trump’s administration to exclude immigrants living in the United States illegally from the population totals used to allocate congressional districts to states.

Open on Reuters
Justices take dim view of Trump effort to cut illegal immigrants from census count
Justices take dim view of Trump effort to cut illegal immigrants from census count

Washington Times

News

Supreme Court justices expressed incredulity Monday at President Trump’s attempt to exclude illegal immigrants from the census count used to apportion seats in Congress, reacting with disbelief to the government’s claims that it still doesn’t even know if it will be able to do what the president asked.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. called the case “quite frustrating,” while Justice Amy Coney Barrett said Mr. Trump’s approach has never been tried before.

“A lot of the historical evidence and the longstanding practice cuts against your position,” she told Solicitor General...

Open on Washington Times

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