President Donald Trump directed the Commerce Department to start rolling out a new census excluding illegal immigrants from the population count.
The president’s announcement was released to Trump’s followers on Truth Social on Thursday, leading to a fierce reaction from the left and right.
Trump’s call for a rare, mid-decade census comes as Democrats and Republicans battle in several states over gerrymandering.
The president is supporting efforts by Texas Republicans to redraw the Lone Star State’s congressional map to boost the party’s advantage in the upcoming midterm elections.
Typically, redistricting for a state takes place every 10 years after the census data is completed and released.
The GOP reform in Texas led to Democratic lawmakers fleeing the state in order to prevent a vote on redistricting.
‘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,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.
He added, ‘People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!’
Traditionally, the Commerce Department conducts a census once every decade. The last census occurred in 2020 amid the presidential election, while the next is scheduled for 2030.
The census is essential for mapping the political influence of each state because the data is used to determine the number of seats in the U.S. House and to distribute federal funds.
Moreover, the census ultimately decides how many electoral votes each state receives for the presidential elections.
The total number of House and Senate seats in each state determines an individual state’s electoral vote count.
The U.S. Census Bureau currently includes ‘unauthorized immigrants’ as a part of the country’s population figures.
The Census Bureau’s website states that ‘all people (citizens and noncitizens) with a usual residence in the United States are included in the resident population for the census.’
Previously, Trump sought to reform the census count in 2020 when he attempted to include a citizenship question during his first White House term.
Trump’s 2020 memorandum was met with legal challenges in federal courts, claiming it violated the 14th Amendment. President Joe Biden eventually revoked Trump’s census order after assuming office in 2021.
Blue states, especially those located near the southern border, such as California, have a larger population of illegal immigrants compared to most red states.
During a Wednesday evening interview with Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller claimed that ’20 to 30 of House Democrat seats wouldn’t exist but for illegal aliens.’
‘Let’s not forget: Democrats rigged the 2020 Census by including illegal aliens,” Miller told Hannity.
Trump’s new census initiative would decrease the number of House seats and electoral votes for states such as California and New York.
However, red states such as Florida and Texas also have one of the largest populations of undocumented migrants in the country, according to the Pew Research Center.