Trump Orders Census to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants, Reviving Constitutional Clash

United States President Donald Trump has reignited a politically charged debate by ordering federal officials to exclude undocumented immigrants from the US Census count — a move critics say could violate the Constitution and reshape political representation for years.

In a social media post on Thursday, Trump said he had directed the Commerce Department, which oversees the US Census Bureau, to begin work on a “new and highly accurate” survey based on “modern-day facts and figures” and the results of the 2024 elections.

“People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” Trump wrote. The next scheduled census is in 2030, but it remains unclear if the president is calling for an earlier, parallel count.

During his first term, Trump sought to add a citizenship question to the Census — an effort blocked by the Supreme Court in 2019 for lacking a “reasoned” explanation. This time, if challenged, his policy could face a more conservative court, with three justices appointed by Trump himself.

Critics argue the order would strip communities of critical federal funding and distort data used for research and congressional redistricting. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution mandates counting “the whole number of persons in each state” — a standard that includes undocumented immigrants. States rely on this data to draw congressional districts.

A 2023 Census Bureau report found the 2020 count already struggled to capture data for many noncitizens. Civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers blasted the new directive.

“The Constitution is plain and simple: ‘whole number of persons,’” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler, recalling that courts rejected a similar attempt in 2020.

Republicans, however, defended the move, saying that counting undocumented immigrants rewards states that shelter them and inflates their political representation.