Trump orders new census to exclude illegal immigrants from states' population totals

Michie · Friday at 4:27 PM

President Donald Trump has ordered a new U.S. census that would exclude illegal immigrants from states' population totals. For decades, illegal immigrants have been included in states' census numbers, which results in states with high non-citizen populations getting more seats in the House of Representatives than they otherwise would.

In a statement posted on Truth Social Thursday, Trump announced that he has “instructed our Department of Commerce to 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.” The president vowed that “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.”

Continued below.

Trump orders new census to exclude illegal immigrants from states' population totals

President Donald Trump has ordered a new U S census that would exclude illegal immigrants from states population totals For decades, illegal immigrants have been included in states census numbers,

www.christianpost.com

Tuur · Friday at 7:48 PM

The US Constitution states that all people, with the exception of Indians not taxed, are to be counted. Since it's likely those here illegally are taxed, either through sales tax or income tax, if some happen to be mostly Indian, they're supposed to be counted, too. There's no distinction between what we term citizen or non-citizen in the passages of the US Constitution concerning apportionment and the census.

The bottom line is excluding non-citizens from the census is unconstitutional. Now, if we want to amend the US Constitution so that only citizens are counted in the census, that's something different.

Vambram · Friday at 7:50 PM

Tuur said:
The US Constitution states that all people, with the exception of Indians not taxed, are to be counted. Since it's likely those here illegally are taxed, either through sales tax or income tax, if some happen to be mostly Indian, they're supposed to be counted, too. There's no distinction between what we term citizen or non-citizen in the passages of the US Constitution concerning apportionment and the census.

The bottom line is excluding non-citizens from the census is unconstitutional. Now, if we want to amend the US Constitution so that only citizens are counted in the census, that's something different.

Please show me in the Constitution the sentences that support your assertions. Thank you.

Tuur · Friday at 7:54 PM

Vambram said:
Please show me in the Constitution the sentences that support your assertions. Thank you.

It's Article 1, Section, 2, Clause 3, and reads:

Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons.

Vambram · Friday at 8:54 PM

Tuur said:
It's Article 1, Section, 2, Clause 3, and reads:

That clause says nothing about illegal immigrants.

ozso · Saturday at 6:32 AM

Dear AI, can people in the US illegally be eliminated from a U.S. Department of Commerce census?

It appears the question refers to a recent statement by former President Donald Trump, who on Thursday instructed the Commerce Department to initiate work on a new census that would exclude immigrants residing in the United States illegally.

However, according to legal and census experts, this approach faces significant hurdles and is unlikely to be implemented as envisioned:

Constitutional Mandate: The 14th Amendment dictates that the "whole number of persons in each state" be counted for apportionment, and the Census Bureau has historically interpreted this to include all residents, regardless of legal status.
Legal Challenges: Past attempts to exclude immigrants residing in the US illegally from the census have been met with legal challenges, with federal courts repeatedly upholding the inclusion of all residents. The Supreme Court has previously blocked attempts to add a citizenship question to the census form on procedural grounds.
Implementation Difficulties: A new census, or a mid-decade census for apportionment, is a massive undertaking requiring extensive planning and resources, NBC Los Angeles notes that it can take as much as 10 years of planning. Implementing a plan to exclude immigrants residing in the US illegally would require significant changes to established procedures and could lead to inaccuracies in the count, potentially impacting the fair distribution of political power and federal funds, according to WTTW.

It's important to note that the U.S. Census Bureau does not collect data on the legal status of individuals, according to Census.gov. It is also important to note that the Census Bureau has not publicly responded to the former president's latest proposal as of August 8, 2025.

Tuur · Saturday at 7:09 AM

Vambram said:
That clause says nothing about illegal immigrants.

"...whole number of free persons..."

A New Dawn · Saturday at 7:34 AM

Tuur said:
The US Constitution states that all people, with the exception of Indians not taxed, are to be counted. Since it's likely those here illegally are taxed, either through sales tax or income tax, if some happen to be mostly Indian, they're supposed to be counted, too. There's no distinction between what we term citizen or non-citizen in the passages of the US Constitution concerning apportionment and the census.

The bottom line is excluding non-citizens from the census is unconstitutional. Now, if we want to amend the US Constitution so that only citizens are counted in the census, that's something different.

I’d be up for amending the Constitution to create a section of the census for taxation purposes and a section for election purposes. If there is no net benefit in representation in government for the illegal aliens being there, then likely they’d all give up being sanctuary states and allow the law to be applied.

Vambram · Saturday at 5:34 PM

Tuur said:
"...whole number of free persons..."

Since when are illegal immigrants "free persons"?

Arcangl86 · Saturday at 5:57 PM

Vambram said:
Since when are illegal immigrants "free persons"?

Are they enslaved? If not, then they are by definition free persons.

Vambram · Saturday at 10:19 PM

Arcangl86 said:
Are they enslaved? If not, then they are by definition free persons.

illegal immigrants are not legal residents. They should not be counted and included in the Census.

Tuur · 2025-08-10T06:45:55-0500

Vambram said:
illegal immigrants are not legal residents. They should not be counted and included in the Census.

That, though, isn't the wording of the US Constitution, and that's the point. To restrict the census to legal citizens would require a constitutional amendment. We can make all the strong arguments in the world as to why illegal immigrants shouldn't be counted in the census, but without amending the constitution to make that restriction, it's all mote.

Arcangl86 · 2025-08-10T09:02:21-0500

Vambram said:
illegal immigrants are not legal residents. They should not be counted and included in the Census

The construction doesn't make any distinction besides Indians not taxed, and even that point is moot now since Native Americans are all citizens by birth now and taxed.

Vambram · 2025-08-10T19:40:24-0500

Tuur said:
That, though, isn't the wording of the US Constitution, and that's the point. To restrict the census to legal citizens would require a constitutional amendment. We can make all the strong arguments in the world as to why illegal immigrants shouldn't be counted in the census, but without amending the constitution to make that restriction, it's all mote.

I disagree.

Trump orders new census to exclude illegal immigrants from states' population totals

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