A freshman Republican has introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to mandate a citizens-only U.S. census, following a demand from President Donald Trump. But legal scholars say the Constitution is clear: it requires counting all persons, including U.S. citizens, legal residents, and undocumented immigrants.
U.S. Rep. Randy Fine filed the “Correct the Count Act” without any co-sponsors.
After posting a screenshot of Trump’s demand, Congressman Fine wrote: “President Trump, I couldn’t agree more. That’s why I introduced the Correct the Count Act to make this LAW! Only AMERICANS can vote in elections, and illegals should not inflate blue states’ populations to give them underserved Congressmen. Florida is getting the shaft, and it is time for that to end! Stop the Steal!”
The Census and the ability to vote are unrelated.
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“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,” Trump wrote on Thursday morning, suggesting no legislation is necessary. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
In a statement to The Hill, Fine wrote that his bill would create “a snap census of Americans only, just as the President called for. Between the Great Deportation and economic refugees fleeing blue states, the 2020 Census is no longer valid.”
Congressman Fine’s bill does not detail how the new Census would be paid for.
While there is no accurate count of undocumented immigrants, a Department of Homeland Security estimate places the total number at 10.9 million as of 2022. There is not a breakdown of all 50 states, but it does provide estimates of the “Unauthorized Immigrant Population” for the top states, including California (2.6 million), Texas (2.06 million), Florida (590,000), New Jersey (490,000), and Illinois (420,000).
Republicans believe more undocumented immigrants reside in blue states than in red states.
Absent court orders, it is extremely rare for a state, outside of the census window, to redistrict with the direct goal of providing more seats to a particular party, and the United States has never conducted a decennial census officially excluding undocumented immigrants.
The Fourteenth Amendment states that “the whole number of persons in each State” is to be counted.
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