Trump Administration Proposes Changes to Who Is Counted in 2030 Census

The Trump administration has proposed changes to who is counted in the 2030 Census, which is open for public comment until October 13.

The Details: The Trump administration in September published a regulation in the Federal register that, if enacted, would exclude undocumented migrants or legal residents with a status lower than a green card from the 2030 Census. The rule would also eliminate certain demographic statistics about race and sexual preference.

"Ensure Fair Representation": Opinion writer Ira Mehlman for Townhall (Right bias) explained that "the Census is more than just an enumeration of the people who are in the United States at the start of each new decade," it is "a blueprint for how Americans are represented in Congress, the number of electoral votes each state wields in presidential elections, how federal dollars are disbursed around the country, and much more." Each Census, according to Mehlman, "has a profound impact on the lives of every American," and thus, "who is counted and for what purposes is important." Mehlman distinguished Trump's changes from earlier constitutional exclusions "in that those were abhorrent forms of discrimination [excluding freed slaves and Native Americans], while the exclusion of visitors and illegal aliens is entirely rational and justified." The Census, according to Mehlman, is an "exercise meant to ensure fair representation and fair allocation of resources for the American people, adding that this "objective can only be accomplished by making a distinction between people who are in America and those who are Americans."

"Decade Long War": Philip Rocco, writing opinion for The New Republic (Left) said "the administration's proposed changes to the 2030 census will harm states and cities," and "the fight to save the Census from Trump starts now." Rocco asserted that the Trump administrations defense of the change is "a mix of bad legal history and a convoluted argument about its need to 'distinguish between foreign citizens in the United states who are counted for apportionment and those who are not counted for apportionment.'" The public comment period, Rocco said, should be used by state and local officials "to document the rule's legal flaws" and "to show the potential consequences of the rule for state representation in Congress and the Electoral College, legislative maps at every level of government, and allocations of trillions in federal and state dollars." Simply "winning in court, however, is not the same thing as protecting the count" Rocco said, explaining that "The second front for state and local officials, then, is investing in trusted, local outreach." Trump's proposed changes are "a continuation of what is now a nearly decade-long war on the national head count," and according to Rocco, "the lesson of the last decade is that Washington alone will not save the census."

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