Trump orders ‘new’ census that excludes undocumented immigrants

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has ordered the U.S. Commerce Department to create a new U.S. census that excludes people who are in the country illegally.

The “new and highly accurate CENSUS” will be “based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

“People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” Trump added.

Trump’s announcement marks his latest effort to reshape the decennial survey, which provides the bedrock data that is used to determine the number of seats in the U.S. House and distribute federal aid.

The post also comes as Trump backs an attempt by Texas Republicans to redraw their state’s congressional map in order to boost their prospects in the 2026 midterm elections. Redistricting usually takes place every 10 years after the census is completed.

“We are entitled to five more seats” in Texas, Trump said Tuesday in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

Those redistricting efforts hit a boiling point this week, when Democrats in Texas fled the state in an attempt to prevent a vote on the new map.

The president has previously sought to alter the census. He attempted to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census during his first term in office, but the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the effort. Trump’s campaign last year centered in part on mass deportations of those living in the U.S. without adequate legal documentation.

The Commerce Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the president’s post.