Trump's Directive Regarding the Census is Blatantly Unconstitutional, But He Already Knows That

President Trump issued a directive yesterday to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census this year. The order may seem odd to some because the Constitution says that all "persons" residing in the United States must be counted to divide up seats in Congress among the states, and everyone living here, regardless of immigration status, has been counted since the first census in 1790. Moreover, Article 1 of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to oversee the census, not the President.

The Trump administration is aware of all this because they already lost a court challenge to an executive order to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. So, they fully expect to lose again in court. But that isn't the point. Trump issued the order to rally his sagging anti-immigrant base for the November election. It's a well worn Trump strategy to divide Americans based on race with him as the champion of white America, pushing back on the nation's growing diversity.

At the same time, the President's directive forces Democrats to defend the interests of non-voting immigrant communities in order to uphold the integrity of the census process. Political genius some might argue, but such tactics might be getting a bit old and more than a bit creepy, especially for a nation taking stock of its past treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. However, it should give you some idea of what Trump's campaign is going to look like this fall and what he thinks of the nation's character.

#news #Trump 2020election #politics #racism #immigration

By: Don Lam & Curated Content