Supreme Court May Be Leaning Towards Permitting Citizenship-Status Question on Census

Hawaiian judges had blocked the addition of the question -- which had previously been asked on the census -- claiming that there were some violations in procedure.

The leftwing justices -- the ones that NeverTrump has fought so hard to pack the court with -- seem to think that the question is illegal because it might reduce self-reporting of illegals on the census. Which could reduce their numbers as far as House of Representatives apportionment -- which strikes most of us as the proper outcome, because why should noncitizens be counted as citizens for purposes of allocating House seats?

The justices that NeverTrump fights to keep off the court signaled that they didn't understand why the census can ask so many intrusive questions but not this one.

It is a major fight over executive power with stark implications for the fight over immigration, and for national elections. Critics say adding the question would discourage many immigrants from being counted. How the justices rule could affect how many seats states have in the House of Representatives and their share of federal dollars over the next 10 years.

The 85-minute oral argument Tuesday grew testy at times, with several on the bench interrupting counsel repeatedly, and others offering lengthy explanations of their legal positions.

The four left-leaning justices pressed the solicitor general for the Justice Department to explain the reasoning behind the citizenship question, noting experts at the Census Bureau have said the citizenship question could lead to an undercount of as many as 6.5 million, especially in urban areas.

...

But several justices on the right questioned whether the citizenship question alone would cause an inaccurate census, saying the survey routinely asks a range of questions on the form, beyond the number of people in a household.

"The principal purpose is to count the population, but we've had demographic questions on the census," said Chief Justice John Roberts. "Sex, age, things like that."

PJ Media puts it succinctly (last major item):

It might decrease minority participation if the minorities in question are not citizens. If states want to harbor illegal immigrants, let them pick up the tab, but they can't have more seats in Congress because they are counting people who are not legal voters.

Meanwhile, Trump instructs a executive branch official to defy a congressional subpoena harassment.

The White House is telling a former official to ignore a subpoena from House Democrats, the Trump administration’s latest move to fight back against investigations into the president.

Carl Kline, a former White House official who had oversight of security clearances for the administration, was issued a subpoena and ordered to appear Tuesday for an interview by the House Oversight Committee. Late Monday, the White House told Kline not to appear for the deposition...

Trump lawyer Michael Purpura claimed the subpoena threatens confidential information, saying in a statement that it "unconstitutionally encroaches on fundamental executive branch interests."

The subpoena is about the #Resistance "whistleblower" who blocked a lot of Trump appointees from getting security clearances, and now complains that the president did what it is unquestionably his right to do -- he gave them security clearances.

The executive power is vested in a President. Lesser officials have powers delegated to them by the president. When he wants to take that back, because, say, he sees all of his appointees being roadblocked and slowrolled by #TheResistance, he can do so.

posted by Ace of Spades at 07:09 PM

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