Texas Republicans Push to Codify Trump’s Census Order
In Texas, Republicans are moving forward to solidify President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding the U.S. census.
Recently, Pfluger, the chair of the Republican Research Committee, introduced a bill that mandates only American citizens be counted in the census. Known as the Count Act, this legislation aims to exclude undocumented immigrants to ensure fair representation in Congress.
Pfluger expressed his concerns, stating, “The Biden administration has manipulated our census, counting millions of undocumented residents as American citizens, which ultimately affects representation and resources in Republican states, including my hometown Texas, which has lost at least one seat.” He added that this situation represents a “constitutional crisis.”
During Biden’s presidency, the census included a significant number of undocumented immigrants, potentially skewing Congressional representation in favor of Democrats. As a result, many American citizens feel overlooked as political maneuvers seemingly take precedence over fair representation.
At present, the census lacks a requirement for individuals to prove their citizenship, allowing many undocumented immigrants to be counted in the official totals, which can influence Congressional allocations. Despite evidence of possible irregularities, there appears to be little appetite among Democrats to change the existing framework.
In May 2024, all 202 House Democrats voted against the Equal Representative Act, which aimed to include citizenship checks in the census process. This proposal, introduced by Republican Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, would have required the census to incorporate citizenship surveys, but was blocked by Senate Democrats.
Pfluger insisted on the necessity of updating the laws to ensure that the count reflects only American citizens for determining Congressional representation and funding. This push could lead to significant changes in how representation is structured going forward.
