{"id":2663132,"date":"2026-09-17T07:53:01","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T11:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwhy-trumps-plan-to-stop-noncitizens-from-rigging-the-census-might-work-this-time\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T08:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T12:01:15","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwhy-trumps-plan-to-stop-noncitizens-from-rigging-the-census-might-work-this-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwhy-trumps-plan-to-stop-noncitizens-from-rigging-the-census-might-work-this-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s Plan To Stop Noncitizens From Rigging The Census Might Work This Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignwhy-trumps-plan-to-stop-noncitizens-from-rigging-the-census-might-work-this-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2663132&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Trump administration has proposed a rule to exclusively count U.S. citizens and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-blasted-trump-admin-for-using-covid-19-as-excuse-to-close-the-border-now-the-biden-administration-is-doing-the-same-thing\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris Blasted ... Admin For Using COVID-19 As Excuse To Close The Border. Now The ... Is Doing The Same Thing.\">lawful permanent residents<\/a> for apportioning Congressional seats and Electoral Collage votes in the 2030 Census. This move aims to prevent non-citizens, including illegal aliens, from influencing political representation, adhering to constitutional principles that define who has a right to such representation. Historically,the Census has included residents irrespective of citizenship status,but the new regulation seeks to modify residence criteria to exclude non-citizens based on their lack of allegiance and legal ties to the U.S. This approach is supported by legal reasoning and precedents, emphasizing the Census Bureau&#8217;s discretion in setting the counting rules. The proposed rule involves complete data collection and linkage efforts to accurately distinguish citizens from non-citizens, perhaps including a question about legal status in the census. The move faces likely legal challenges but signifies a significant effort to restore &#8220;one man, one vote&#8221; principles by reducing non-citizen influence on political apportionment. The outcome depends on legal interpretations and the administration\u2019s ability to implement and uphold these policies amid court proceedings.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The Trump administration has just made its most powerful move yet in the president\u2019s long-running battle to ensure that the American government represents <em>Americans<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>It did so last week by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2026\/09\/10\/2026-18481\/decennial-census-of-the-population-of-americans-proposed-residence-criteria-and-proposed-regulations#sectno-reference-60.4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">proposing <\/a>a rule that would require the Census Bureau to count only U.S. citizens and green card holders for apportionment purposes in the 2030 Census.<\/p>\n<p>If implemented, millions of illegal aliens would no longer distort the political map. House seats and Electoral College votes would be divvied up based on population numbers reflecting the \u201cWe the People\u201d our system exists to represent. The rule would neutralize foreign influence; eliminate the undue political power sanctuary jurisdictions have accrued through decades of mass illegal immigration; and restore the \u201cone man, one vote\u201d principle by ending the dilution of Americans\u2019 voting power that has occurred through counting non-citizens in the population figures used to draw up districts.<\/p>\n<p>The rule accomplishes these ends by simply modifying the Census Bureau\u2019s so-called \u201cresidence criteria.\u201d From the very first Census, tabulators have counted people at their \u201cusual residence\u201d to determine the \u201cpersons\u201d in each state used to apportion representatives. In recent decades, the Commerce Department, which carries out the Census and devises the rules and regulations governing the count \u2014 through the Census Bureau \u2014 has included residents regardless of citizenship status. In 2020, for example, its criteria stipulated that foreigners \u201cliving in\u201d the U.S. be counted. Under the new proposed rule, only dual nationals or lawful permanent residents would be counted \u201c[c]ounted at their usual residence\u201d for apportionment.<\/p>\n<p>If finalized, the policy will almost surely come under aggressive legal attack. Anticipating that attack, the rule lays out two reasons why the Trump administration is modifying the residence criteria. The first is Constitutional: Illegal aliens and most other classes of non-citizens are not the \u201cpersons\u201d entitled to representation via apportionment. The \u201cusual residence\u201d at which \u201cpersons\u201d call home, in the Bureau\u2019s originalist reading, which it details in the rule, are \u201ctied to allegiance, durable permission from the sovereign to settle with the United States, and establishment of domicile within the United States.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Consequently, illegal aliens, and all other foreigners save for legal permanent residents, \u201care not true inhabitants, members of the body politic, or persons with a \u2018usual residence\u2019 in the United States due to their lack of a sufficient tie and allegiance\u2026\u201d Therefore, they ought to be excluded from the apportionment base.<\/p>\n<p>The second reason for the proposed rule is legal and prudential: Irrespective of one\u2019s constitutional interpretation, the Trump Census Bureau\u2019s exclusion of illegal aliens and others from the apportionment base is a \u201clawful and appropriate exercise\u201d of the Bureau\u2019s discretion given the authority granted to it by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.govinfo.gov\/content\/pkg\/USCODE-2024-title13\/pdf\/USCODE-2024-title13-chap5-subchapII-sec141.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Congress<\/a> and as reflected in Supreme Court precedent.<\/p>\n<p>That precedent includes <em>Franklin v. Massachusetts<\/em>, a 1992 case wherein the court upheld a decision by the George H.W. Bush Census Bureau to count all overseas employees of the Department of War at their \u201chome[s] of record,\u201d contrary to existing practice. The Supreme Court found then that \u201cthe Secretary of Commerce made a judgment, consonant with\u2026the text and history of the Constitution, that many federal employees temporarily stationed overseas had retained their ties to the States and could and should be counted toward their States\u2019 representation in Congress.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, that the Census Bureau has modified its residence criteria previously \u201cdepending on changing circumstances and operational decisions\u201d reflects what the Supreme Court held in Wisconsin v. City of New York, another case referenced by the Bureau. The Trump administration argues it should be given the same discretion as its predecessors.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed rule marks the latest salvo in a fight I\u2019ve been covering at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realclearinvestigations.com\/articles\/2025\/06\/26\/who_counts_trump_poised_to_try_to_remove_noncitizens_from_census_1118884.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RealClearInvestigations<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/07\/29\/counting-noncitizens-in-the-census-undermines-american-democracy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/17\/trump-admin-fights-to-keep-illegal-immigrants-from-distorting-census\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">at<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/09\/if-scotus-bans-illegals-from-the-census-dems-could-lose-power-for-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/07\/15\/john-roberts-citizenship-decision-legally-politically-corrupt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federalist<\/a>, and at the <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmind.org\/salvo\/after-barbara-illegal-aliens-and-the-census-part-i\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">American<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmind.org\/salvo\/after-barbara-illegal-aliens-and-the-census-part-ii\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mind<\/a> extending back to the first Trump administration to insulate our political system from illegal immigration via the Census. It appears to be responsive to red states who have been litigating against the Trump administration to force it to, for example, change its residence criterion, and mirrors their arguments.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most importantly, the rule seems to take into account Trump I\u2019s experience at the Supreme Court. Then, the president sought to exclude certain classes of non-citizens from the Census by executive action, not regulation. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >left-wing lawfare apparatus challenged<\/a> the policy, and the case escalated to the Supreme Court. In <em>Trump v. New York<\/em>, the administration raised similar arguments to those raised in the proposed rule. But the court failed to weigh in, dismissing the case in December 2020 on standing and ripeness grounds. The Biden administration would rescind the Trump administration policy before apportionment took place.<\/p>\n<p>The case may be relevant, however, given what occurred in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/oral_arguments\/argument_transcripts\/2020\/20-366_7lho.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">oral arguments<\/a>. There, several justices homed in\u00a0on practical questions, like the size of the illegal alien population the administration had identified through federal records, whether and to what extent it was prioritizing specific subsets of them, and what the impact of excluding such groups would be.<\/p>\n<p>The court did not proceed in part because many of these matters were in flux. This time around, the Trump administration may have settled such matters. That\u2019s because it has clearly laid out its intent to exclude all but citizens and legal permanent residents, and appears to have a comprehensive plan for separating this population from the excludable one.<\/p>\n<p>According to the rule, \u201cThe Census Bureau\u2019s administrative record holdings is nearly exhaustive of the civilian Federal government\u2019s holdings,\u201d including records from the Departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, State, and War, along with the U.S. Postal service, state, local and tribal records, and third-party commercial data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Census Bureau therefore now has access to substantially more information than it did when it conducted the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau expects to continue obtaining additional information moving forward.\u201d The rule adds that the Census Bureau has also developed \u201ca highly-advanced data linkage infrastructure,\u201d to separate citizens and various classes of non-citizens \u2013 something it lacked previously.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed rule also contemplates potentially adding a question to the Census regarding respondents\u2019 \u201clegal status\u201d that could assist in its efforts to exclude illegal aliens. The first Trump administration tried to reinstate a query authorities had asked for decades: \u201cIs this person a citizen of the United States?\u201d The Supreme Court stymied such efforts despite holding the practice of reinstating the question to be constitutional, in one of Chief Justice Roberts\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2019\/07\/15\/john-roberts-citizenship-decision-legally-politically-corrupt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">most asinine<\/a>, blatantly anti-Trump rulings to date.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the Trump administration will ultimately prevail based on its constitutional interpretation or executive authority; how it will go about identifying and excluding non-citizen classes from the apportionment base; and if it can resolve these matters in court and ensure the next administration maintains these policies \u2014 given the Census count will occur in 2030, after Trump II has ended \u2014 remain open questions.<\/p>\n<p>But this proposed rule is the crucial first step to blunting the impact of decades of open borders via the Census and restoring genuine representative government.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Ben Weingarten is editor at large for RealClearInvestigations. He is a senior contributor to The Federalist, columnist at Newsweek, and a contributor to the New York Post and Epoch Times, among other publications. Subscribe to his newsletter at weingarten.substack.com, and follow him on Twitter: @bhweingarten.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump proposes counting only citizens for 2030 Census apportionment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":698,"featured_media":2663133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Applicants_take_the_Oath_of_Allegiance_at_a_naturalization_ceremony_36252103024.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[58162,32644,13833,3634,4351],"class_list":["post-2663132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-census-2","tag-election-integrity","tag-noncitizens","tag-trump","tag-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Applicants_take_the_Oath_of_Allegiance_at_a_naturalization_ceremony_36252103024.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/698"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2663132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2663144,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2663132\/revisions\/2663144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2663133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2663132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2663132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2663132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}