2nd judicial panel blocks Trump on count for House seats

For the second time in two months, a panel of federal judges Thursday blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to exclude people in the U.S. illegally from being counted during the process of divvying up congressional seats by state.

The decision from a panel of three district judges in California went further than last month’s ruling by a panel of three federal judges in

Newyork by saying Trump’s order in July not only was unlawful but also violated the Constitution.

The New York judges ignoredthe question of the order’s constitutionality and just said it was unlawful.

“The Constitution’s text, drafting history, 230 years of historical practice and Supreme Court case law all support the conclusion that apportionment must be based on all persons residing in each state, including undocumented immigrants,” the judges in fornia wrote.

The Trump administration has appealed the New York decision to the Supreme Court, and the nation’s high court agreed to hear the case next month.

The Justice Department, which is representing the Trump administration, didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiry Thursday.

The case was heard before a panel of three district judges since it deals with

Calihow many congressional seats each state gets based on population figures from the once-a-decade census — a process known as apportionment.

Any appeal can bypass an appellate court and go straight to the Supreme Court.

During arguments earlier this month, Trumpadministration attorneys told the judges that any challenge to the order should wait until the apportionment numbers are turned in at year’s end.

Trump said that allowing people in the country illegally to be counted for apportionment undermines the principles of representative democracy.

The federal judges in California sided with a coalition of individuals and governments that had sued the Trump administration, arguing the order discriminates against people based on race, ethnicity, and national origin.

The coalition included the state of California; the cities of Los Angeles, Oakland and San Jose; and the counties that are home to Houston and Seattle.

The ruling reinforces that regardless of legal status, “the millions of undocumented immigrants who live, work, attend school, and raise their children in our communities are inhabitants of this country and must under theconstitution be counted,” said Rick Bress, an attorney for the plaintiffs.