Data on the citizenship status of U.S. census respondents won’t be finalized or released until after President Donald Trump leaves office, putting his push to exclude illegal immigrants from apportionment in jeopardy, the Census Bureau says.
Reports, estimates, or data relating to Trump’s two executive orders “will not be finalized, reported or publicly disclosed prior to the change of Administration on January 20, 2021,” the bureau stated.
It also said that neither the Census Bureau nor the Department of Commerce will report or publicly disclose any population counts or estimates relating to the population as of April 1, 2020, “including counts or estimates of the illegal alien/undocumented immigrant population, prior to the change of Administration.”
Biden opposes most of Trump’s immigration agenda, including the effort to exclude illegal immigrants from apportionment. That means the data may never see the light of day.
The bureau attributed the delay in reporting the data to a Jan. 15 court order in a lawsuit brought by the National Urban League. The order stipulated a 21-day stay. But Department of Justice attorneys told the court in a filing in the case before the order that the bureau wouldn’t be in a position to finalize the apportionment data or citizenship information “until many weeks after January 20.”
“To the extent such population counts or estimates are developed after the change of Administration but prior to the end of the stay, Defendants would provide Plaintiffs with 7 days’ detailed notice prior to reporting or publicly disclosing them,” the bureau said.
The White House hasn’t immediately responded to requests for comment.
