President Donald Trump is calling for a change to how the U.S. counts its population, five years ahead of the next census. In a post Thursday on Truth Social, Trump said he is directing the Department of Commerce to begin work on a new census that would exclude people living in the country without legal status and instead based on modern day figures.
“People who are in our country illegally will not be counted in the census,” Trump wrote.
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Trump calls for changes to 2030 census
The Department of Commerce oversees the U.S. Census Bureau, which conducts the nationwide count every 10 years. The last census took place in 2020.
The U.S. Constitution requires a national population count every 10 years that includes all “persons” living in the country, not just citizens. This language has long been interpreted to mean that everyone residing in the United States, regardless of immigration status, must be counted for purposes of representation and funding.
Trump’s latest move echoes his earlier attempt in 2019 to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, a plan that was ultimately blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court. At the time, the court ruled that the administration’s reasoning for the change appeared “contrived,” and the question was not included.
Based on his post, Trump said he will instruct the department to use “information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.”
The next national headcount may still be years away, but behind the scenes, preparations for the 2030 census have been in motion since 2019, according to the Census Bureau. Right now, the bureau says the focus is on building and testing the systems that will power the count, including trial runs in 2026 and a rehearsal planned for 2028.
Why the census matters beyond counting people
This will be the country’s 25th census, covering every state and five U.S. territories. The results won’t just show where people live, they’ll shape how power and resources are divided for the next decade.
Census data determines how many seats each state holds in the U.S. House and is used to redraw voting districts. It also drives decisions on how billions in federal funding are spent, from roads and schools to hospitals, emergency services and more.
Leaving individuals without legal status out of the census wouldn’t just shift population numbers on paper, it could carry real financial consequences, especially for the country’s most populous states.
States with more unauthorized immigrants could lose out
California and Texas could face the steepest losses if non-citizens are excluded from the census count. Both states have large unauthorized immigrant populations that contribute to their overall numbers. According to the Migration Policy Institute, California is home to more than 2.7 million unauthorized immigrants. Texas follows closely with about 2.1 million, based on figures from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics.
Without being counted, these residents would still use public infrastructure, driving on highways, sending kids to school, relying on emergency services, but their states wouldn’t receive the federal support typically provided to help cover those costs.
In effect, large and fast-growing states could end up footing the bill for millions of residents without getting a fair share of federal resources in return.
Texas becomes focal point in GOP strategy
Trump’s push to exclude immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from the census comes as he urges Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps in ways that could strengthen GOP control in the House ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The timing isn’t coincidental. Population counts from the census directly influence how congressional districts are shaped. By removing unauthorized immigrants from those numbers, some states could shift political boundaries to favor Republican candidates without reducing the total number of districts they draw.
Texas has been at the center of this strategy. In recent weeks, Trump claimed the GOP is “entitled” to pick up at least five House seats there in the next election, a statement that highlights how redistricting and census data are deeply connected to political power.
