California, Florida, Texas each lose House seat if illegal immigrants not counted in census, report

California, Florida and Texas would each lose a House seat if President Trump succeeds in getting illegal immigrants removed from the 2020 U.S. census, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. 

Census data is used to redraw congressional districts every 10 years, in response to population shifts.

The think tank’s analysis shows that without the illegal immigrant population, California would lose two House seats instead of one, Florida would gain one seat instead of two and Texas would gain two seats instead of three, according to the Associated Press. 

The Pew analysis also reportedly shows Alabama, Minnesota and Ohio would each keep a congressional seat they most likely would have lost, in the redrawing process otherwise known as apportionment. 

Federal law requires the Census Bureau to hand over the final head-count numbers used for apportionment to the president at the end of the year, but the bureau is asking Congress for an extension until next April 30 because of disruptions caused by the pandemic, the wire service also reports. 

Trump on Tuesday issued a directive to attempt to keep illegal immigrants out of the census count, arguing their inclusion “would create perverse incentives and undermine our system of government.”

At least four lawsuits or notices of a legal challenge have reportedly been filed trying to stop the directive, which breaks with almost 250 years of tradition and is unconstitutional, according to a lawsuit filed by Common Cause, the city of Atlanta and others in federal court in the District of Columbia, the wire service also reports.