Trump Pushes Census Without Undocumented
The Pew Research Center calculated that excluding undocumented immigrants in 2020 would have cost California, Florida, and Texas a seat
Trump's latest effort comes as battle redistricting rages around the country. Texas Republicans have proposed new voting maps that could give them up to five additional House seats in 2026. Photo/ Courtesy
BY juliet Jerotich
Former US President Donald Trump on Thursday asked for a new national census that would exclude undocumented immigrants. He requested officials to set up what he described as a “new and highly accurate” tally from “modern day facts and figures” of the 2024 election.
On a social media site, Trump declared that “people who are in our country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.”
The US Constitution, first implemented in 1790, mandates a census every decade. That enumeration shall count all residents, not immigration status. The next census is coming in 2030, although planning has already begun. Trump did not specify whether he was requesting a special census prior to that time or alterations in the standard 2030 count.
The census also determines how many Congressional seats a state receives. It also affects the number of Electoral College votes per state and how much of trillions of federal dollars a state receives. The Pew Research Center calculated that excluding undocumented immigrants in 2020 would have cost California, Florida, and Texas a seat in the House of Representatives.
During his initial term, Trump tried to put a citizenship question in the census but was halted by the Supreme Court. The court avoided ruling on whether illegal aliens can be excluded.
Trump’s latest effort comes as battle redistricting rages around the country. Texas Republicans have proposed new voting maps that could give them up to five additional House seats in 2026. Over 50 Texas Democratic legislators went out-of-state to prevent the scheme during a special legislative session. Texas Republicans offered to arrest them, and Senator John Cornyn summoned FBI help to locate them.
Other Republican-held states are also considering redistricting to solidify their slim House majority. Politico cited the party as weighing as many as 10 new targets in Ohio, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Florida. Vice President JD Vance traveled through Indiana to discuss potential gains with Governor Mike Braun.
Braun said any conversation in Indiana would be preliminary, stressing the state’s 2021 maps were reasonably drawn. “We tried to remain along township lines,” he said, pointing out the shapes aren’t like “an octopus.”
Democrats promised to return with their own legislation in New York and California. Meanwhile, the Texas delegation in Illinois was evacuated temporarily from a hotel Wednesday by an unknown threat. Under the orders of Governor JB Pritzker, state police are protecting the group.
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