JUST IN: Trump Poised To Remove Illegals From Census In Crushing Blow To Democrats

The Trump administration is preparing to strip illegal aliens from the U.S. census count—a decision with massive implications for congressional representation, Electoral College votes, and federal funding.

The battle over who counts in the U.S. census is heating up again as President Donald Trump sets his sights on reversing one of the most impactful policies from the Biden era. At the center of the renewed effort is a plan to exclude illegal immigrants from the official population count used to determine congressional apportionment—something Democrats argue is unconstitutional, but Republicans see as a necessary correction.

Rather than reintroduce a citizenship question, which failed in 2020, Trump’s team plans to rely on administrative data from federal agencies to identify and exclude those unlawfully present in the country. This would directly target the way congressional seats, Electoral College votes, and federal funds are distributed—cutting off the political benefits currently enjoyed by states with high illegal immigrant populations.

We’re going to “clean up the census and make sure that illegal aliens are not counted,” said White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller.

Supporters argue the current system unfairly rewards blue states like California and New York by inflating their populations with individuals who, they say, should not be counted toward representation in Congress.

According to researchers, applying Trump’s approach to the 2010 census would have caused California to lose three House seats, while states like Louisiana, Missouri, and North Carolina would have each gained one.

House Republicans have reintroduced the Equal Representation Act after it previously stalled in the Senate. Originally passed by the House in May 2024 along party lines, the legislation failed to gain traction in the Democrat-controlled upper chamber.

Now brought back by Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC), the bill aims to ensure that only citizens are counted in the population totals used for congressional apportionment.

“Americans deserve fair and equal representation, something that will not be possible until we eliminate the influence of noncitizens in our elections,” Edwards told RealClearInvestigations.

Before reaching the House floor again, the bill must first clear the Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY). Comer echoed Edwards’ concerns, telling RCI, “American citizens’ representation in Congress should not be determined by individuals who are not citizens of the United States.”

Comer confirmed the committee intends to advance the bill during this session, keeping the issue of representation and citizenship firmly in the spotlight as the 2026 midterms approach.

Immigration advocacy groups and Democrat attorneys general are already preparing legal challenges, citing the 14th Amendment and the Census Act, which they say mandate a full count regardless of immigration status.

Trump previously attempted to implement a similar policy in 2020, but the Supreme Court declined to weigh in substantively, saying the issue was premature. With renewed momentum and a second term in office, Trump’s team appears more prepared—and more determined—to force the issue.

Separately, four GOP-led states—Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio, and West Virginia—have already sued the Biden-era Commerce Department, arguing that the inclusion of illegal immigrants in the census robs their citizens of fair representation. That case is on pause as the Trump administration finalizes its legal and administrative roadmap.

If successful, this policy could mark a dramatic shift in political power—removing seats from heavily Democrat urban strongholds and reallocating them to more rural, conservative regions.

And for Democrats, it may represent the loss of a long-running, under-the-radar advantage.