Former President Donald Trump has publicly called for a new nationwide census that would exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted, marking a dramatic shift from the constitutional norms surrounding population enumeration in the United States.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump stated:
“I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024. People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.”
The current U.S. Constitution mandates that a national census be conducted every ten years. The last official count was in 2020. The results of each decennial census are critical, determining congressional representation and the distribution of billions in federal funding.
The U.S. Census Bureau includes all residents—regardless of immigration status—in its count. This includes lawful permanent residents, visa holders, students, refugees, asylum seekers, and individuals who entered the country without legal authorization. As noted on the Bureau’s website, “unauthorized migrants are implicitly included in the Census Bureau estimates of the total foreign-born population.”
Efforts to alter the way the census is conducted or who is included in the count would face significant legal and constitutional hurdles. Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution clearly requires an “actual enumeration” of the population every ten years, while Title 13 of the U.S. Code obliges the Census Bureau to provide Congress with the wording of census questions two years prior to the count.
Trump’s call for a new census comes at a time when Texas Republicans are pursuing redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Redrawn congressional maps, if successful, could bolster the GOP’s narrow majority in the House of Representatives, where they currently hold a three-seat edge.
Neither the U.S. Census Bureau nor the Department of Commerce has commented on Trump’s statement. The feasibility, legality, and funding for a new census remain uncertain.