Can Trump call a new census and leave out immigrants in the country illegally?
In a week when highly partisan redistricting dominated the news, President Donald Trump took a step further Aug. 7 when he said he had ordered the Commerce Department to start working on a new census.
“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,” he wrote Aug. 7 on Truth Social. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS.”
It wasn’t clear from Trump’s social media post when he wants the next census to be held. Under current law, the next census is set for 2030.
A new census would be a sharp break with decades of precedent. Excluding immigrants in the country illegally will need to be tested in the courts, and other issues, including the timing of the census, would require consent from Congress, experts said.
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