Millions of residents could be excluded from the U.S. census, congressional representation could be reshaped and federal funds could be reallocated across states under changes proposed by the Trump administration.
In the proposal posted to the federal register Wednesday, the Census Bureau suggested adding a citizenship question to the decennial questionnaire, which President Donald Trump has wanted since his first term.
The proposal argues that the census count should exclude any undocumented immigrants and noncitizens without permanent residency because they are “not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a ‘usual residence’ in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance to the United States.”
Under the newly proposed rules, refugees and asylum seekers would be excluded from the population count.
Trump administration officials also want to prohibit the Census Bureau from asking certain demographic questions, including about race, ethnicity or sexual orientation, claiming the survey “should be colorblind and should not be distorted in any way by questions about immaterial personal characteristics.”
The Census has collected data on race, ethnicity and origin since 1790.
Trump has for years pushed to alter how the American population is tallied every decade, including unsuccessful efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. The Supreme Court ultimately froze that plan, saying Trump officials had provided a “contrived” reason for wanting such information.
The Trump administration’s latest proposal will almost certainly face legal challenges. The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution mandates that representatives in Congress be apportioned to states based on “the whole number of persons in each state,” without specifying immigration status.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led a lawsuit against Trump’s efforts to change the 2020 Census, said Wednesday the state is again exploring legal options to fight back against the administration’s proposed changes to the 2030 Census.
“The Constitution is clear. Every person living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, must be counted in the census,” she wrote on X.
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