President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Commerce to begin work on a new U.S. census that excludes undocumented immigrants, per Newsweek.
“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump wrote Thursday (August 7) on his Truth Social platform. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.”
For decades, all residents, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, have been counted in the census for congressional apportionment. Trump’s request could significantly reshape the country’s political landscape, especially in immigrant-heavy states like California, New York, and Texas.
Trump and Republicans in Texas are supporting the use of new population data amid their push for redistricting in the state. A proposed redraw of the Texas congressional map could add up to five GOP seats.
The president attempted to enact a similar census policy in 2020, but it was blocked in lower courts and dismissed by the Supreme Court. The 14th Amendment and federal law require the census to count the “whole number of persons” in each state, regardless of their status. Likely, Trump will again face legal challenges to his latest directive.
“The Congress debated whether or not to count citizens only, and the decision was made back in the 1860s that the reapportionment was to be based on the whole number of persons,” Jeffrey Wice, senior fellow at New York Law School, said in a statement.
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