Trump Demands New Census, Says People Staying In US Illegally ‘Will Not Be Counted’

President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the Commerce Department to begin work on a new national census that excludes undocumented immigrants. 

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the effort would rely on “modern day facts and figures” and incorporate information from the 2024 presidential election. “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS,” he wrote. 

The U.S. conducts a census every decade as outlined in the Constitution. The last one happened in 2020. The importance of this data lies in its use for allocating federal funds, determining Congressional seats, and apportioning Electoral College votes among states. Getting a new count could redistribute those votes before the next election in 2028.

Given that the next census is scheduled to take place in 2030, it’s unclear how Trump plans on implementing the proposed overhaul. It is also unclear whether or not including undocumented residents would be illegal. 

"The U.S. Census Bureau collects data from all foreign-born who participate in its censuses and surveys, regardless of legal status. Thus, unauthorized migrants are implicitly included in the Census Bureau estimates of the total foreign-born population," the U.S. Census Bureau’s website said.

Meanwhile, the U.S. markets were in the green during pre-market trade. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) rose 0.77%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) gained 0.19%. The Invesco QQQ Series 1 Trust (QQQ), which tracks the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, was up 1.26%. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the S&P 500 ETF remained in ‘neutral’ territory. However, retail sentiment around QQQ improved to ‘bullish’ territory from ‘neutral’ a day ago.

Read also: Trump Pushes For Intel CEO Resignation, Says He’s ‘Highly Conflicted’

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