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

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.

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Vambram said:

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

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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.

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Tuur said:

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

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• 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.

Vambram said:

That clause says nothing about illegal immigrants.

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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.

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Tuur said:

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

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Vambram said:

Since when are illegal immigrants "free persons"?

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Arcangl86 said:

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

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Vambram said:

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

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Vambram said:

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

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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.

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Michie said:

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

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• Deport undocumented immigrants who have committed violent crimes, as promised by the President during the campaign and while in office.
• Strengthen border security to reduce unauthorized crossings.
• Update asylum laws so that those seeking asylum are required to apply from their home countries rather than after crossing the U.S. border.
• Enhance E-Verification to make it more difficult for businesses to hire undocumented immigrants.
• Acknowledge the need for foreign-born workers in the U.S. due to insufficient numbers of U.S.-born citizens to support economic growth.
• Provide a pathway to legal status for existing undocumented immigrants who have no felony convictions, aside from immigration violations such as unauthorized entry or overstaying visas.

Vambram said:

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

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resident​

adjective​

noun​