Trump Administration Proposes Excluding Noncitizens From 2030 Census

The Trump administration has proposed major changes to the 2030 Census that would exclude undocumented immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and potentially other noncitizens without permanent-resident status from population totals used to apportion House seats and Electoral College votes. The plan would potentially add a citizenship or legal-status question, narrow the definition of usual residence, alter how military personnel are counted, remove race and ethnicity questions, and prohibit future questions about sexual orientation. If adopted, the changes could shift political representation, voting-district maps and federal funding toward states with smaller immigrant populations, while limiting data used to enforce the Voting Rights Act and other civil-rights laws. Critics say the exclusions conflict with the Fourteenth Amendment’s requirement to count the “whole number of persons in each state,” while administration officials say the proposal better reflects the Constitution’s purpose and the concept of usual residence. The rules are likely to face legal challenges, require congressional approval, and build on prior administration efforts to alter the census that were blocked or reversed.