Trump Calls for New Census, Sans Noncitizens, Based On ‘Presidential Election of 2024’
President Donald Trump called for a new census this morning that does not count unlawful immigrants and uses “the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.”
Trump made a series of posts on Truth Social Thursday morning that ranged from a demand that the Intel Corporation CEO resign to bragging about newly enacted tariffs, which began with his Census statement at 7:22 a.m.
“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. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump posted.
It’s not readily clear if Trump is calling for a mid-decade census or just changes to the 2030 count, or how the 2024 elections would be in any way relevant to the tally. The White House, Commerce Department and Census Bureau did not immediately respond to Democracy Docket’s requests for comment.
Whatever his intention, Trump lacks the authority to order changes to the Census.
The 14th Amendment of the Constitution requires that the “whole number of persons in each state” are tallied in the Census’ decennial apportionment counts, which determine each state’s allotment of House seats and Electoral College votes. And Article I empowers Congress — not the President — with the “actual enumeration” of apportionment.
In his first administration, Trump attempted to direct the Census Bureau to exclude undocumented immigrants from the 2020 Census. Opponents immediately sued to block that move, winning in district court. That case eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ducked the question of its legality. The matter was ultimately dropped when President Joe Biden took office and rescinded Trump’s executive memorandum.
In a separate case, the Supreme Court blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to add a question on citizenship status to the Census.
Federal law also currently forbids apportionment counts to be based on mid-decade census data. In addition to the comprehensive counts held every ten years, the Bureau surveys Americans annually.
Congressional Republicans have introduced a handful of bills this year to remove noncitizens from the 2030 Census totals. The House passed one such bill in 2024, but it stalled in the Senate. If enacted, the constitutionality of any such law would likely face challenges, given the plain text of the 14th Amendment.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also introduced a bill last month that would trigger a new Census and would direct the Bureau to exclude non-citizens from apportionment counts. The legislation would also impose a photo-ID requirement for voting. Greene said her bill has Trump’s support.
Shortly before Trump took office this year, a handful of Republican-led states sued the Commerce Department for including noncitizens in the Census. That case has been paused since the new administration began.