The attorneys general of Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio, and West Virginia have initiated legal action against the U.S. Census Bureau. They seek to prevent the inclusion of illegal immigrants in the population count used for assigning congressional seats and electoral votes. The lawsuit, filed in a Louisiana federal court on Sunday, contends that the Biden government’s decision to count illegal immigrants in the 2020 census for apportionment purposes resulted in a loss of congressional representation and electoral votes for Ohio and West Virginia. Allegations in the suit claim that due to this method, Texas gained a congressional seat, and California retained one that it might have otherwise lost.
The legal complaint argues that Louisiana and Kansas are at risk of losing seats and votes in the 2030 reapportionment if the current practice is maintained. In 2018, the U.S. Census Bureau developed the “Residence Rule” for the 2020 census, requiring foreign nationals residing in the U.S. to be counted in the state of their usual residence. This applies irrespective of their legal status or whether they hold temporary visas. According to the lawsuit, both President Biden’s Commerce Secretary, Gina Raimondo, and Census Bureau Director Robert Santos included illegal immigrants in the apportionment data for congressional seats and electoral votes.
The plaintiffs argue this approach infringes upon the Fourteenth Amendment and Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution by improperly redistributing political power to states with large illegal immigrant populations. The lawsuit states that the “actual Enumeration” obligation was understood to include only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. It asserts that those without the right to vote, primarily illegals, should not be counted in state apportionment.
