Trump administration proposes excluding certain immigrants from US census

Key Points:

• The Trump administration has proposed a major change to the US census that would exclude noncitizens, including undocumented immigrants and those with temporary legal status, from the population count used for political representation and resource allocation.
• The proposal also suggests removing certain race and ethnicity questions to reduce response burden and improve participation, arguing that such demographic questions have questionable usefulness.
• Unlike historical precedent, which counts all residents regardless of citizenship, the new plan would count only US citizens and lawful permanent residents, verifying citizenship through cross-referencing government records.
• Critics warn that the changes could suppress census participation, distort community data, and reduce federal funding, with concerns that it aligns with Trump’s broader efforts to limit immigrant influence and reshape electoral power.
• The Justice Department has also threatened states with loss of welfare funding if they fail to report undocumented immigrants, intensifying concerns about the impact of these policies on immigrant communities.