Missouri Files Lawsuit Against Census Bureau
Missouri has launched a significant federal lawsuit, accusing the Census Bureau’s methods of counting undocumented immigrants and visa holders of being unconstitutional. The state argues this practice dilutes the votes of American citizens and unfairly boosts representation for blue states in Congress.
Attorney General Kathleen Hannaway is spearheading the lawsuit, claiming Missouri lost a House seat following the 2020 census due to the inclusion of certain foreign nationals in the population count.
The legal team is pushing for a redo of the 2020 population count, requesting that undocumented immigrants and visa holders be omitted from the figures used to allocate House seats. This effort comes as the 2026 midterm elections approach, with concerns about potential Democratic gains in the House.
According to Missouri’s lawyers, the current policy “deprives Missourians of federal representation” by shifting it to states that inflate their populations by sheltering illegal immigrants. It’s worth noting that including all individuals in the apportionment process has been a longstanding tradition. Although there have been legal challenges in recent years, most have not succeeded, and the Supreme Court has avoided taking a definitive stance on the issue.
The Constitution notes that representation should be based on “the total number of people in each state.” However, Missouri contends this leads to a “tainted apportionment base.” In 2020, a presidential memorandum from Donald Trump sought to exclude undocumented individuals from the count, but this move was halted by a court. After President Biden took office, he rescinded Trump’s directive.
Interestingly, the lawsuit follows the recent release of 2024 census population estimates, indicating that red states appear to be gaining while blue states lose ground. A Republican group has even produced a map showing that if only American citizens were counted, red states would likely gain more House seats by 2030.
Concerns have been raised on social media about how red states would significantly benefit from excluding undocumented immigrants in population counts. The Missouri lawsuit asserts that the estimated millions of undocumented immigrants mainly reside in blue states, thereby skewing representation in Congress.
Moreover, Missouri’s lawyers argue that blue states might be incentivized to support policies favoring illegal immigrants, leveraging their population size to enhance congressional representation. They indicate this has led states like California and New York to undermine federal authority in favor of undocumented individuals.
“Missouri voters can no longer ignore the continued denial of their right to self-government and fair representation,” Hannaway asserted. She emphasized that the framers of the Constitution did not envision a situation in which millions of undocumented individuals could significantly influence federal representation.
Efforts have been made to reach out to the Department of Commerce for their input regarding the lawsuit.
