TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Gov. Ron DeSantis came up with the idea of counting a mid-term census. The announcement came on Wednesday at the Education Roundtable in Tampa.
“They agree that this census is flawed,” DeSantis said.
Changes to Florida Learner Permission Requirements Go into effect on August 1st
DeSantis said he and Trump administration’s Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick are on the same page for the 2020 census.
“I don’t think illegal aliens should be counted in the census. I think that’s wrong. I think it’s unconstitutional,” DeSantis said.
Since 1790, citizens and non-citizens have been counted to determine the number of representatives in each state of Congress. It also helps you decide on federal funding.
The U.S. Supreme Court told Trump’s first administration that citizenship questions could not be included in the 2019 census. Last year, Republicans passed a House bill in a new effort to ban non-citizens. That law has been reintroduced in other rooms in the Senate, co-sponsored by Senator Rick Scott.
Steve Jost, a consultant at the Census Project, is considering the Second Section of the Fourteenth Amendment. He said this push from the GOP is against the land law.
“The author of this law you refer to is proposing something against the Constitution,” Jost said.
The Constitution’s Census language states that it “counts the total number of each state.” Like Rep. Chuck Edwards of western North Carolina, Republicans have previously argued that “people” were not defined and that several states are rewarded for breaking federal immigration laws. Advocates argue that language is clear.
Jost also said it would take years to plan the number of census. For example, plans for 2030 began 12 years ago.
“It’s unprecedented to think that a census can be conducted with a one- or two-year notice,” Jost said.
Desantis believes the High Court will ultimately file a lawsuit deciding whether non-citizens can be excluded from helping them determine the number of representatives for Capitol Hill.
