Following years of a surge in illegal immigration, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller announced on Monday that the Trump administration is working to exclude illegal immigrants from being counted in the U.S. census.
President Donald Trump is taking on a new challenge—one that is technically legal but, in his view, shouldn't be. He argues that only U.S. citizens should be eligible to vote, receive government benefits, and, critically, be counted in the U.S. census. This marks his second attempt to address the issue, following his unsuccessful 2020 push to add a citizenship question to the census—a move blocked by the Supreme Court and later reversed by the Biden administration.
Miller emphasized that the goal is to ensure that only U.S. citizens are included in population figures used for congressional apportionment, Electoral College allocations, and the distribution of federal funding.
Stephen Miller stated last month that the second Trump administration is committed to “cleaning up the census” by ensuring illegal aliens are not included in the population count.
Republicans argue that counting noncitizens narrows the voting power of citizens, particularly in districts with fewer immigrants. In other words, if districts with large numbers of noncitizens receive the same representation as those with only citizens, then citizens in those areas effectively gain more political clout per voter.
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Democrat-led states often seek to boost their representation by including illegal immigrants in population counts, which can result in additional congressional seats and increased federal funding. Census data also plays a critical role in determining how billions of federal dollars are allocated. Republicans argue that U.S. tax dollars should benefit American citizens, not individuals residing in the country illegally.
On Tuesday, while visiting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' (R) Alligator Alcatraz, a state-of-the-art detention center in the middle of the Everglades to hold illegal aliens before they are deported, President Trump said he and the governor were working to redo the census so that it only counts American citizens.
"We want to bring our elections back... The Democrats are very good at cheating on elections... They include anybody who happens to be in your state," Trump said.
DeSantis noted that if the U.S. conducted a fair and accurate census, California would lose five congressional seats due to its population numbers. At the same time, Florida was unfairly shortchanged, losing at least one seat. He suggested this discrepancy could impact control of the House of Representatives.
Trump and DeSantis on re-doing the census and ONLY counting American citizens:
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 1, 2025
Trump: "We want to bring our elections back... The Democrats are very good at cheating on elections... They include anybody who happens to be in your state."
DeSantis: "California would lose 5 seats… pic.twitter.com/MNbCV7tivQ
I recently reported that New York City’s Democratic leadership is working to ensure illegal immigrants are counted in the 2030 Census. A coalition of elected officials, community organizers, labor leaders, and civic groups is strategizing to include noncitizens, amid concerns the city could lose at least two of its 26 congressional seats.
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