Trump Orders a "New Census" That Would Exclude Undocumented Immigrants

On August 7, 2025, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he had directed the Commerce Department to begin work on a "new census," adding that "People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS." He said the effort should use "the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024." The post did not take the form of an executive order or a rulemaking, and the next decennial count is not scheduled until 2030.

The Fourteenth Amendment directs that House seats be apportioned by counting "the whole number of persons in each State," and the Census Bureau's standing practice is to count all residents regardless of immigration status. Because apportionment determines House seats and Electoral College votes, changing who is counted would redistribute political power among the states. Trump attempted a similar exclusion by memorandum in 2020; the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge as premature, President Biden revoked the memorandum in 2021, and Trump revoked Biden's order in 2025.

The announcement arrived during a mid-decade redistricting fight in Texas and other states. As of the end of August 2025 no formal directive implementing a new count had been issued, and census experts questioned both the legal basis and the practical feasibility of conducting one outside the decennial cycle.