The Trump administration proposed changes to the U.S. census on Wednesday, intended to exclude undocumented immigrants and temporary residents from apportionment counts for the 2030 national head count, while also moving to eliminate questions regarding race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.
The plan, outlined in a proposed rule published in the Federal Register, would reshape how congressional seats and Electoral College votes are distributed among states after the upcoming national tally in April 2030. Conducted decennially, the census historically counts the whole number of persons in the United States as specified by the 14th Amendment, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
Excluding Undocumented and Temporary Immigrants From Apportionment
Under the newly proposed rules, the Census Bureau would continue to count lawful permanent residents with green cards while excluding undocumented immigrants and individuals whose legal status is less durable and indefinite in length than lawful permanent resident status. The administration argues that illegal aliens (among others) should not be included in the apportionment count, as 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
according to Roll Call.
The Census Bureau is considering using its broad access to administrative records from federal agencies—including the departments of the Treasury, Health and Human Services, Defense, and Homeland Security, alongside the U.S. Postal Service—to determine the legal status of respondents as reported by The Guardian. This effort revives a policy pursued during Donald Trump’s first term, when his administration attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 survey before the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the move.
President Trump publicly advanced the push on social media, writing on Truth Social that People who are in our country illegally will not be counted
as noted by The Guardian. Republican lawmakers have pursued similar policy goals in Congress, including a 2024 House bill and a Senate bill sponsored by Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., aimed at excluding undocumented immigrants from apportionment.
Proposals to Remove Demographic Questions on Race and Ethnicity
In addition to modifying who is counted for congressional seats, the proposed rule calls for eliminating demographic questions concerning race and ethnicity, which have been included in every census since the first count in 1790. The administration asserts that racial classification causes social division and that government policy should operate on a race-neutral basis according to SBS.
Civil rights groups and researchers warn that removing these inquiries would jeopardize data required to enforce the Voting Rights Act and monitor compliance with antidiscrimination protections. Mita Anand, director of the Census and Data Equity Project at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, cautioned that the shift could leave areas with high immigrant populations with insufficient federal funding and representation.
The proposal also seeks to bar any questions about sexual orientation from the national survey, reversing prior federal survey expansions designed to generate statistics that protect LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination.
Anticipated Legal Challenges and Potential Congressional Shifts
Constitutional scholars and Democratic lawmakers argue that the 14th Amendment explicitly mandates counting all people living in the country. House Oversight Committee Democrats accused the administration of trying to rig the survey and vowed to fight the proposal.
State officials are also preparing countermeasures. New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that her office is exploring legal options to fight back against the newly proposed changes.
Previous modeling illustrates the high political stakes involved in altering apportionment criteria. A 2020 study by the Pew Research Center estimated that excluding undocumented immigrants from apportionment would have shifted three House seats away from states like California, Florida, and Texas, benefiting states such as Alabama, Minnesota, and Ohio according to Roll Call data. The proposed rule now moves into a 30-day public comment period before the Census Bureau reviews feedback and issues a final ruling.
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