FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS ADVISORY
May 22, 2018
Steve Marshall
For More Information, contact:
Mike Lewis (334) 353-2199
Alabama Attorney General
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Page 1 of 2
ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL STEVE MARSHALL AND U.S. REPRESENTATIVE
MO BROOKS FILE LAWSUIT AGAINST FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER INCLUSION
OF ILLEGAL ALIENS IN 2020 CENSUS APPORTIONMENT COUNT
Alabama Expected to Lose One U.S. House Seat and Electoral College Vote if Illegal Aliens
Included in Apportionment Count
(MONTGOMERY) – Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and U.S. Representative Mo
Brooks, R-Alabama, have jointly filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the Census
Bureau’s unlawful decision to include illegal aliens in census data used to determine the
apportionment of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Electoral College.
“If the U.S. Census Bureau follows through with its plan to include illegal aliens in the 2020
census for purposes of apportionment, Alabama will lose both a seat in the U.S. House of
Representative and a vote in the Electoral College,” said Attorney General Marshall.
“Alabama’s loss will be another state’s gain, as states with a growing illegal alien population
will be the beneficiary of this reapportionment. I have joined with Congressman Mo Brooks in
filing suit against the federal government to stop the inclusion of illegal aliens in the census’s
apportionment population. The Constitution does not permit the dilution of our legal residents’
right to equal representation in this manner.”
“Congressional seats should be apportioned based on the population of American citizens, not
illegal aliens,” said U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks. “After all, this is America, not the United Nations.
There are roughly fifteen million illegal aliens in America (no one knows for sure the exact
number). Roughly fifteen million illegal aliens equals roughly 20 Congressional seats taken
from low-illegal alien population states and given to high-illegal alien population states like
California. As of today, Alabama likely loses a Congressional seat after the 2020 census if
apportionment includes illegal alien counts. The loss of an Alabama Congressional seat will be
a huge loss in Alabama’s political influence and will diminish Alabama’s influence in Congress
and its importance in presidential elections. I support the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution and, as such, I join the State of Alabama in seeking
to protect the equal protection rights of American citizens by stopping the distribution of
Congressional seats based on illegal alien counts. This lawsuit will have significant and
enduring effects on Alabama and other states harmed by unconstitutional census methods.
Fundamentally, the issue is fair and equal representation for United States citizens. While some
stand for illegal aliens, I stand for American citizens.”
501 Washington Avenue * Montgomery, AL 36104 * (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov Page 2 of 2
In their lawsuit, Attorney General Marshall and U.S. Rep. Brooks argue the Census Bureau’s
“Residence Rule,” which allows foreign nationals living in the United States to be counted in
the census and allocated to the state of their “usual residence” regardless of whether they are
legally present in the U.S., violates the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the
constitutional principal of equal representation:
“The Residence Rule breaches the federal government’s constitutional obligation to conduct an
‘actual Enumeration’ of the number of ‘persons in each State.’ The phrase ‘persons in each
State’ was understood at both the Founding and in the Reconstruction era to be restricted to
aliens who have been lawfully admitted to the body politic constituted by the Constitution.
Aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States did not qualify because they are not
entitled to political representation. Thus, the actual enumeration of the population cannot
include such aliens.”
Alabama is not alone in being adversely affected by the Census Bureau’s decision to include
illegal aliens in the apportionment calculation. Ohio is likely to lose a congressional seat and an
electoral vote, and Montana will not gain a congressional seat and an electoral vote it would
have acquired if illegal aliens were excluded from the 2020 census and the apportionment base.
The State of Alabama’s lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Census
Bureau was filed May 21, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.
Link to lawsuit
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