Republicans Propose Excluding Noncitizens From 2030 Census Apportionment

Several Republican lawmakers are pursuing legislation to exclude noncitizens from the 2030 census apportionment counts, which dictate the distribution of U.S. House seats and Electoral College votes. Three distinct bills have been introduced to achieve this: one from the House Appropriations Committee targeting noncitizens without legal status, and two others from Senator Bill Hagerty and Representative Chuck Edwards seeking to exclude all noncitizens, including green-card and visa holders.

To implement these changes, the legislation would require adding citizenship and immigration status questions to census forms. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene is also planning a proposal for a mid-decade census and redistricting, while Representative Warren Davidson led a joint resolution to amend the Constitution to limit apportionment counts strictly to U.S. citizens.

These efforts face significant legal challenges. The 14th Amendment requires the count of the whole number of persons in each state. Attorneys general from Louisiana, Kansas, Ohio, and West Virginia have already filed a lawsuit to exclude noncitizens, though a federal judge paused the case in March to allow the Trump administration to determine its approach. John Bisognano, president of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, vowed to immediately challenge any passed legislation on legal grounds.