Trump’s latest plan to rig the congressional map for Republicans long after he’s gone

Key Points:

• The Trump administration proposed changes to the 2030 census that would exclude non-U.S. citizens, including undocumented immigrants, asylum seekers, and refugees without permanent residency, from the population count used for apportioning House seats and Electoral College votes.
• These changes aim to shift political power from Democratic-leaning states with larger immigrant populations to Republican-controlled states, reflecting Trump's directive to base the census on "results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024."
• The proposal also seeks to eliminate key race and ethnicity questions, which critics argue are essential for enforcing the Voting Rights Act and ensuring fair representation.
• The administration justifies the exclusion by interpreting the Constitution's use of "persons" in the apportionment clause as referring only to those with permanent ties to the country, a stance that challenges longstanding legal precedent and constitutional interpretation.
• The proposal has faced immediate backlash, with Democrats, civil rights groups, and states like New York threatening legal action, arguing that the changes would undermine democracy by depriving marginalized communities and immigrant-rich states of political power and federal funding.