Washington, D.C. – Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Immigration and Citizenship Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) released the following statement on President Trump's memorandum attempting to alter census figures for the apportionment of congressional districts:

“After the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s efforts to illegally ask for citizenship information on the census, the President now seeks to unlawfully change the census count through executive fiat.  The President’s memorandum violates the plain text of the Constitution, which requires that all 'persons' be counted in the census and that congressional apportionment be based on the 'whole number of persons' in each state.  The memorandum would violate this Constitutional requirement by seeking to discount any persons believed to be undocumented.  The Constitution, however, could not be clearer.

“The President’s order is intended to sway future elections by skewing electoral apportionment against areas, like cities, with large immigrant populations.  Refusing to count any persons in the United States would effectively deny representation to diverse communities in future elections, undermining the Constitution’s guarantee of equal representation.

“This is just the latest desperate attempt by this President to distract from his disastrous coronavirus response by scapegoating immigrants.  Unfortunately, the Administration's anti-immigrant zeal and desire to divide us as a nation knows no bounds. 

“This is another blatantly unlawful executive order by this lawless President.  As a nation we deserve better.”