President Trump Proposes Census Overhaul That Excludes Undocumented Immigrants from Count

President Trump announced Thursday that he has ordered the U.S. Department of Commerce to conduct a new census that excludes undocumented immigrants from the official count—a move that would mark a significant departure from longstanding constitutional practice.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated the new census would rely on "modern day facts and figures" and incorporate "results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024." He emphasized, "people who are in our country illegally will not be counted."

The U.S. Census has, under the 14th Amendment, historically counted the "whole number of persons" residing in each state, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, as The Guardian points out. Trump's directive appears to contradict this constitutional mandate, despite no evidence of irregularities in the 2020 census.

In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a net error rate of -0.24% in that count—statistically indistinguishable from zero—while the Government Accountability Office confirmed its accuracy at the national level.

The directive echoes ongoing Republican efforts to alter how representation is allocated, given that census data determines congressional representation, electoral college apportionment and the distribution of federal funding for schools, hospitals and other essential services.

In late June, Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee reintroduced the Equal Representation Act, a bill that would mandate citizenship questions on future censuses and require that only U.S. citizens be counted for the purpose of congressional apportionment and Electoral College allocation. The legislation is co-sponsored by 18 Senate Republicans.

"It is unconscionable that illegal immigrants and non-citizens are counted toward congressional district apportionment and our electoral map for the presidency," Hagerty said at the time, arguing that current policy inflates representation in states with large undocumented populations. He and other supporters assert that this practice encourages illegal immigration by boosting political power in states like California and New York.

Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) called the bill a "commonsense measure" and Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) noted that while the census can count all residents, it "should also distinguish between them."

Previous efforts to restrict the census count during Trump's first term were blocked by the courts and later reversed under the Biden administration.