Trump Administration Proposes Excluding Non-Citizens from Census 2030, Setting Up 14th Amendment Challenge

USANewsOnline.Com Desk, New York – Today, the Trump administration published a proposal for major changes to how the United States government produces census results for Census 2030, which includes excluding U.S. residents who live, work, and contribute to their communities but do not hold citizenship or a green card and eliminating questions about race and ethnicity.

The proposed rule change raises serious constitutional and civil rights concerns. Historically, the U.S. Census, required by the 14th Amendment, counts “the whole number of persons in each State” and collects demographic data including race and ethnicity. Census data are then used to determine the distribution of seats in the House of Representatives and the allocation of federal funding to state and local governments. By excluding large swaths of residents and race and ethnicity data, immigrants and communities of color will have less ability to identify disparities and discrimination, hold institutions accountable, and enforce civil rights protections that ensure equal representation and equal access to resources and opportunities. The end result would critically undermine civil rights and voting rights protections.

Murad Awawdeh, President and CEO, New York Immigration Coalition:
“A fair and accurate decennial census is crucial to ensuring a healthy democracy. The proposed rule change is designed to deprive historically marginalized communities and immigrant-rich states – like New York – of their rightful share of political power and funding. Restricting who is counted and removing information about race and ethnicity is an attempt to erase the power, presence, and diverse needs of our communities from future federal data used for redistricting, enforcing the Voting Rights Act, and other antidiscrimination protections. This is not the first time that the Trump administration has tried to undermine the U.S. Census. In 2018, the administration tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census—and we fought them all the way to the Supreme Court and won. Immigrants and communities of color cannot be denied their Constitutional right to be counted. Elected officials must resist all attempts to undermine the 2030 Census, our democracy, and our legal right to be included in the census.” Press Release