Immigrant Groups Fight GOP Plan to Ban Noncitizens From Census

Lawsuit seeks to block Republican effort to exclude undocumented immigrants from 2030 census count

Published on Feb. 10, 2026

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Immigrant rights groups are seeking to intervene and block a Republican lawsuit that would prohibit the U.S. Census Bureau from counting people who are in the U.S. illegally during the 2030 census. The groups argue the lawsuit would distort representation and violate the Constitution's requirement to count the "whole number of persons in each state."

Why it matters

The census numbers guide the distribution of federal money and determine the number of congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state receives. Excluding undocumented immigrants could shift political power away from states with large immigrant populations.

The details

The lawsuit, filed by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, asks that the apportionment process using the 2020 census figures be redone without including people in the U.S. illegally and that the process after the 2030 census be conducted the same way. A similar lawsuit is pending in federal court in Louisiana, and Republican lawmakers have introduced legislation to accomplish the same goal.

  • The lawsuit was filed late last month by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.
  • Last August, former President Donald Trump instructed the Commerce Department to have the Census Bureau start work on a new census that would exclude immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally from the head count.

The players

Immigrant rights groups

Groups seeking to intervene and block the Republican lawsuit that would prohibit the Census Bureau from counting undocumented immigrants.

Catherine Hanaway

Missouri Attorney General who filed the lawsuit seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census count.

Donald Trump

Former U.S. President who instructed the Commerce Department to exclude undocumented immigrants from the census.

Howard Lutnick

Commerce Secretary who acknowledged during a Senate hearing that citizenship is not a factor in the apportionment process under the Constitution.

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What they’re saying

“That unlawful request would distort representation for millions of Americans and shake the foundations of our representative democracy.”

— Immigrant rights groups

“What the questionnaire is, I don't know, and we've not decided.”

— Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide whether to allow the immigrant rights groups to intervene and block the Republican lawsuit.

The takeaway

This case highlights the ongoing political battle over how the census should count undocumented immigrants, which could have major implications for the distribution of federal funding and political representation across the country.