Today our firm filed an amicus brief in the case of Louisiana v. John Bryson in the United States Supreme Court in support of plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a bill of complaint, challenging the constitutionality of the 2010 Census.
The United States Census Bureau maintains that it “is required by the U.S. Constitution to count everyone living in this country, regardless of immigration or citizenship status.” Our amicus brief argues that the Census Bureau claim is demonstrably untrue.
First, the United States Constitution did not create the Census Bureau, or even the Department of Commerce, of which the Census Bureau is a part. Thus, the Constitution vests no power directly in the Census Bureau. Rather, the Census Bureau is a creature of the United States Congress. As such, its powers and duties are determined by statute, not by the Constitution. Even then, the law establishing the Census Bureau must itself be “made in pursuance” of the Constitution in order for it to be the law of the land. See U.S. Constitution, Art. VI, Cl. 2.
Further, the Constitution does not require, or even authorize, a census “count [of] everyone living in this country.” Rather, Article I, Section 1, Clause 3, as amended by Section 2 of the 14th Amendment, authorizes a targeted decennial census of the “respective numbers” of the People of the several States, not a wholesale count of the numbers of persons found “living” in the United States. Only by such a tailored count can the constitutionally authorized decennial census serve the purpose for which that census has been required — the apportionment of representation of the people of the several states in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lastly, it is manifestly untrue that the decennial census ordained by the Constitution is to be taken without regard to a person’s “immigration or citizenship status.” The decennial census is conducted for the apportionment of representation in the House of Representatives, the members of which are “chosen every second Year by the People of the several States.” The first sentence of the 14th Amendment establishes a symbiotic relationship between a person’s United States citizenship and that person’s State citizenship. Thus, whether a person is part of the
People of a State is largely, if not exclusively, dictated by a person’s “immigration or citizenship status.” Any census that ignores that connection is fatally flawed.
Our amicus brief was filed on behalf of:
U.S. Border Control (www.usbc.org)
U.S. Border Control Foundation (www.usbcf.org)
U.S. Justice Foundation (www.usjf.net)
Institute on the Constitution (www.iotconline.com)
Gun Owners of America, Inc. (www.gunowners.org)
Gun Owners Foundation (www.gunowners.com)
English First, (www.englishfirst.org)
English First Foundation (www.englishfirstfoundation.org)
Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund (www.cldef.org)
The Lincoln Institute for Research and Education (www.lincolnreview.com)
Public Advocate of the United States (www.publicadvocateusa.org)
Policy Analysis Center
Del. Bob Marshall (www.delegatebob.com)
Rep. Charles Key (www.charleskey.com)
Del. Don Dwyer (delegatedwyer.com)
Rep. Matt Shea (www.voteshea.com)
Sen. Kit Jennings
Bob Fanning (fanning-baldwin.com)
Chuck Baldwin (fanning-baldwin.com)