President Donald Trump should be concerned about the accuracy of the census, especially since the last one undercounted in Republican states, costing them six net seats in the House. However, a mid-decade census would not only be unprecedented but also logistically impossible, as it takes years to plan and hire for. Additionally, while Trump has every right to insist the census include a question about immigration status, the Constitution is clear that all those counted must be included in House apportionment. Trump will have to get a Constitutional amendment to change that.
Trump’s fusing of illegal immigration and the census is not new. In December 2017, during his first term in office, Trump’s Justice Department sent a letter to the Commerce Department requesting a citizenship question be added to the 2020 census to help enforce Section 2 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in voting.
