Unlawful immigrants excluded from future U.S. census proposed by Trump, breaking existing practices
The current administration of former President Trump proposed an unprecedented plan to conduct a new census excluding people living in the U.S. without legal status. This plan, which has not yet been implemented, aims to exclude millions of undocumented immigrants for the first time in U.S. history.
This proposal contrasts with the 14th Amendment requirement to count the "whole number of persons in each state," which historically includes all residents regardless of citizenship or legal status. The census count is used for apportioning congressional seats and distributing federal funding. Excluding undocumented immigrants would conflict with this constitutional mandate and differ from past practice since the first U.S. Census in 1790.
Legal precedents further complicate the matter. Attempts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census and to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment counts were met with lawsuits and court rulings. The Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question on the 2020 Census but did not rule definitively on excluding undocumented immigrants from apportionment. Lower courts have barred the administration from implementing policies that exclude undocumented immigrants from census-based apportionment.
Former President Joe Biden affirmed the longstanding practice of including the total number of persons residing in the states in apportionment counts with a 2021 executive order. The 2026 Census Test, a major field test for the 2030 census plans, is set to take place in six areas in the South and West.
The legality of Trump's proposal to allow state and local governments to draw voting districts that do not account for children and non-U.S. citizens is an open question before the Supreme Court. Other Republicans in Congress have reintroduced bills that call for excluding either people without legal status or all people without U.S. citizenship from the 2030 apportionment counts.
The Commerce Department has been instructed to "immediately begin work" on a census using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. However, it is important to note that a mid-decade census, such as the proposed 2025 census, cannot be used for redistributing each state's share of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and votes in the Electoral College.
Using the census to ask about a person's immigration status is likely to produce faulty self-reported data and discourage many households with Latino or Asian American residents from getting counted. This new census, planned to exclude millions of people living in the country without legal status, raises concerns about its accuracy and potential impact on the distribution of political power and federal resources.
In conclusion, Trump's plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census contrasts with the 14th Amendment requirement to count all persons and faces strong legal obstacles based on past court decisions. The proposed census plan, if implemented, could significantly alter the political landscape of the United States, potentially shifting congressional seats and federal funding, impacting states with large undocumented populations.
- Despite the proposed plan by former President Trump to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census, legal precedents complicate the matter, with court rulings barring such exclusion in the past.
- The proposal to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment counts contrasts with the 14th Amendment requirement to count the "whole number of persons in each state."
- If implemented, Trump's plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census could significantly alter the political landscape of the United States.
- The census count is used for apportioning congressional seats and distributing federal funding, making the proposed exclusion of undocumented immigrants a controversial subject.
- Attempts to include a citizenship question on the 2020 Census and to exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment counts were met with lawsuits and court rulings.
- The Commerce Department has been instructed to "immediately begin work" on a census using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.
- Askings a person's immigration status in the census is likely to produce faulty self-reported data and discourage many households with Latino or Asian American residents from getting counted.
- Other Republicans in Congress have reintroduced bills that call for excluding either people without legal status or all people without U.S. citizenship from the 2030 apportionment counts.
- The 2026 Census Test, a major field test for the 2030 census plans, is set to take place in six areas in the South and West.
- Forming a census that excludes millions of people living in the country without legal status raises concerns about its accuracy and potential impact on the distribution of political power and federal resources.
- The supreme court blocked the citizenship question on the 2020 Census but did not rule definitively on excluding undocumented immigrants from apportionment.
- Former President Joe Biden affirmed the longstanding practice of including the total number of persons residing in the states in apportionment counts with a 2021 executive order.
