President Donald Trump has directed his administration to begin working on a new census that does not incorporate those illegally present in the United States.
“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,” he declared. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The next census is scheduled for 2030.
According to the census website, the resident population includes both citizens and noncitizens living in the United States. The website asserts that “all people (citizens and noncitizens) with a usual residence in the United States are included in the resident population for the census.”
Trump issued a memorandum in 2020 during his first term as president to exclude illegal immigrants from the apportionment base.
“Excluding these illegal aliens from the apportionment base is more consonant with the principles of representative democracy underpinning our system of Government,” Trump’s memo said. “Affording congressional representation, and therefore formal political influence, to States on account of the presence within their borders of aliens who have not followed the steps to secure a lawful immigration status under our laws undermines those principles.”
“I have accordingly determined that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President’s discretion under the law,” it added.
Former President Joe Biden revoked the Trump administration’s policy excluding illegal immigrants. President Trump then reversed Biden’s order upon returning to the White House.
