Contact: Speaker’s Press Office,

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Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement on the victory in the case of State of New York v. Donald Trump, in which a specially-designated three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York unanimously ruled to block the Trump Administration’s order to exclude undocumented immigrants from being included in the population count that will be used to apportion seats in Congress after the 2020 Census.  In August, the House filed an amicus brief opposing the Trump order:

“Today’s District Court ruling is a resounding victory for justice, equality and our American Democracy.

“The Census is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined by our Founders to ensure that all people who live in America, regardless of citizenship, are equally counted and represented.  Specifically, the Constitution provides that ‘Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State.’  Congress reinforced that mandate by providing expressly by statute that apportionment was to be based by Census results consisting of the ‘whole number of persons in each State.’

“The President’s unlawful order was a brazen violation of the rule of law, purpose-built to cause traditionally undercounted communities to be even further underrepresented and left behind.  We are pleased that the court unanimously declared that the President’s directive violated the law and blocked this latest Trump attack on our immigrant communities.

“The Democratic House is proud to continue to fight in the Courts and in the Congress to ensure that every person in this country is counted, and to ensure a fair and accurate Census as the Constitution and our American ideals demand.”

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