Trump Moves To Bar People In US Illegally From Census Count; LA, California Officials Blast 'Xenophobia'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — A White House memorandum signed Tuesday by President Donald Trump seeking to bar people in the U.S. illegally from being counted in the 2020 Census drew immediate criticism from city and state officials.
Trump said that including people who are in the country illegally in the apportionment process "would create perverse incentives and undermine our system of government."
"There used to be a time when you could proudly declare, 'I am a citizen of the United States.' But now, the radical left is trying to erase the existence of this concept and conceal the number of illegal aliens in our country," Trump said in a statement. "This is all part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens, and I will not stand for it."
Reapportionment is the process for redistributing seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on changes in population found in each decennial census.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court blocked the administration's effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form, with a majority saying the administration's rationale for the citizenship question — to help enforce voting rights — appeared to be contrived.
The move drew swift condemnation from Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, who called the move "unconscionable."
"No one, not even the President, is entitled to his own facts. The fact is that the Constitution requires counting every single person, regardless of immigration status," said Feuer.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom also issued a statement condemning the effort as "rooted in racism and xenophobia."
"Counting every person in our country through the Census is a principle so foundational that it is written into our Constitution," Newsom said. "This latest action by the administration to exclude undocumented immigrants when determining representation in Congress, rooted in racism and xenophobia, is a blatant attack on our institutions and our neighbors."
So far, only four states with Republican governors are cooperating. Iowa, South Carolina and South Dakota recently joined Nebraska in agreeing to share state driver's license information with the Census Bureau.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)