Photo by Rob Curran, Unsplash
Photo by Rob Curran, Unsplash
“The Constitution is clear. Every person living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, must be counted in the Census,” New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Republished with permission from Common Dreams, by Brett Wilkins
The Trump administration on Wednesday formally proposed sweeping changes to the 2030 US Census that could exclude millions of people from the population count, alter congressional representation in favor of Republicans, and shift the distribution of federal resources among states.
The proposal—which was published in the Federal Register and is subject to a 30-day public comment period—redefines a person’s “usual residence” as the place where they legally spend the most days during the Census count period, with tax records such as returns and W-2s used as evidence.
Most significantly, people who are not US citizens or permanent residents as of April 1, 2030, would be excluded from the apportionment count altogether, a sharp departure from the 2020 census, which counted foreign citizens living in the United States regardless of immigration status as required by the Constitution.
The proposed change is rooted in a disputed interpretation of the Constitution’s reference to the “whole number of persons” in each state, with the administration arguing that “persons” should be understood through the historical concept of “inhabitants” and membership in the political community.
Under the proposal, Census questionnaires would also be barred from asking about race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, arguing that such information is outside the Census’ core constitutional purpose.
Some of the proposed changes track closely with Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation-led plan to expand executive power and shrink the federal government.
Left-leaning legal experts asserted that the changes proposed by the Trump administration violate the 14th Amendment, which mandates congressional apportionment based on “the whole number of persons in each state,” regardless of their immigration status.
“The Constitution is clear. Every person living in the United States, regardless of immigration status, must be counted in the Census,” Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James said on social media.
“We stopped the Trump administration’s Census attacks in 2020, and we’re exploring our legal options to fight back again,” she added, referring to successful lawsuits to stop the administration’s efforts to end the Census count early, add a citizenship question, and exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment.
In 2019, US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority in Department of Commerce v. New York that the Trump administration’s rationale for the proposed citizenship question “seems to have been contrived.”
Responding to Wednesday’s announcement, William Roberts, senior vice president of rights and justice at the Center for American Progress (CAP), said in a statement that “the administration’s proposal is a flagrant assault on our democracy, designed to manipulate voting maps and dilute the political representation of diverse American communities.”
“Eliminating questions on race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation strips our government of critical data needed to ensure vital resources are extended to the communities who need them most; and notably, it would also make it more difficult to enforce the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” he continued.
“Furthermore,” Williams stressed, “excluding undocumented immigrants and noncitizens from congressional apportionment directly violates the [14th] Amendment’s mandate to count the ‘whole number of persons in each state.’”
“CAP condemns this blatant attempt to weaponize the Census for political gain,” he added. “Congress has final authority over the census, and the public has 30 days to write their representatives and oppose this rule.”
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