Who Counts? Trump Poised To Try To Remove Noncitizens From Census

The Trump administration is planning to challenge the practice of counting illegal aliens in the US census, which could have significant political implications. The census count is used to apportion House seats, determine Electoral College votes, and allocate government funds. Some researchers argue that including non-citizens in the census count disproportionately benefits Democratic states with large illegal alien populations. However, a recent study found that excluding non-citizens from the 2020 census count would have had a negligible impact on the political map. Critics of the practice argue that it dilutes the representation of American citizens and incentivizes localities to promote illegal immigration. The Trump administration's move is based on the argument that the Constitution's 14th Amendment only intended to count citizens, not illegal aliens. The administration's policy is likely to face legal challenges, but red state attorneys general and Republican legislators are supporting the effort. If the administration's policy is blocked in court, a lawsuit filed by several states could provide a backup plan. Republicans in Congress have also introduced legislation to require the census to include a citizenship question and exclude non-citizens from the count. The outcome of this issue could have significant implications for the balance of power in the US government.