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The Trump administration filed a notice on Friday appealing a federal court order that halted the administration’s plans to close the 2020 census count September. U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in the Northern District of California issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday blocking the Census Bureau from ending the count early and ordering census takers to keep working until Oct. 31. The Justice Department is appealing the order to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Census Bureau director Steven Dillingham said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees the agency, had ordered the census to be sped up to end on Sep. 30, a month early. But Judge Koh found the administration’s decision was likely to produce inaccurate numbers. Census counts are used to determine the distribution of congressional seats and federal funds. NPR
In other federal immigration news…
Congressmembers Outraged by Irwin County Jail
Several members of Congress called for the Irwin County Detention Center in Georgia to be shut down pending an investigation into allegations of unwanted hysterectomies being performed there. The lawmakers visited the facility and spoke to detainees who shared stories of the conditions. “This is a horror show, it truly is worse than I expected,” Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.), said Saturday after speaking with detainees. The congressmembers discussed conditions beyond the allegations against Dr. Mahendra Amin, whom several women have accused of performing unwanted hysterectomies. Those other conditions included the spread of COVID-19; Women reported being given one paper mask to wear for weeks. Associated Press
How Barrett Has Ruled on Immigration
Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump’s pick to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, has often opposed immigrant rights in the cases she’s seen in her three years on the Seventh Circuit Court. She sided with the administration on the issue of public charge. She has also refused to hear appeals for immigrants applying for asylum. Still, she did rule against the administration in a case regarding former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ Matter of Castro-Tum rule, which blocked judges’ use of administrative closure to close immigration cases. Vox
