Trump orders a new Census that excludes illegal aliens

On Thursday, Pres. Trump announced on his social media platform, Truth Social, that he is ordering the Commerce Department to “begin work” on a new nationwide census that excludes illegal aliens from the count. 

While the ultimate goal is to reapportion House seats to remove the advantage that Democrat-leaning states with large illegal-alien populations currently hold over Republican-leaning states, this new census would be used primarily by the federal government to allocate resources to the states. It could also lay the groundwork to include a citizenship question on the 2030 census.

The current congressional map is based on the 2020 census. Many argue that the final count was inaccurate because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inclusion of noncitizens. By including noncitizens (both legal immigrants and illegal aliens), Republican-leaning states lost a net of 10 congressional seats and swing states lost four seats, while Democrat-leaning states gained a net increase of 14 congressional seats.

The issue of congressional apportionment has received a lot of attention in recent weeks with the effort by Texas Republicans to redraw the state's congressional boundaries. Under current law, states can redistrict between decennial censuses. However, congressional reapportionment can only occur every 10 years.

Like most of Pres. Trump’s orders, this one will surely face legal challenges. But the order is not without historical context. The long survey used for the decennial census used to include a question on citizenship until the question was removed in 2000. In 2010, Pres. Obama eliminated the long survey, in lieu of a short survey that does not include citizenship status.

Immigration Articles

Justice Department Publishes List of Sanctuary Jurisdictions
On Tuesday, the Justice Department released an updated list of sanctuary jurisdictions that includes 12 states, four counties, 18 cities, and the District of Columbia. The list is smaller than lists issued in the past by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but the criteria used to determine these sanctuary jurisdictions has become more rigorous. For a locality to be labeled as a sanctuary for illegal aliens, it must have a formal policy on record, restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement efforts, circumvent federal law by providing federal benefits to illegal aliens, and more. You can view the full list of criteria, as well as the specific jurisdictions, here.

History Made, Again: Trump Administration Crushes Border Records in July
Last Friday, DHS announced that the Trump Administration achieved a new historical low in border encounters of illegal aliens. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered just 24,630 inadmissible aliens in July. (CBP encounters include illegal border crossers and inadmissible aliens who show up at ports of entry.) Also, Border Patrol agents apprehended just 6,177 illegal border crossers nationwide compared to 8,024 in June. These are preliminary numbers, and final numbers should be released over the next few weeks.

State Department may require some travelers to post $15,000 bond for business or tourism visas
The State Department has released a public notice announcing a pilot program that would require foreign visitors from countries that have a high rate of visa overstays to post up to a $15,000 bond before receiving a visa. These visa holders would get their bond back should they depart the country before their visa expires. The pilot program would only apply to foreign nationals who apply for a B-1 (business travelers) or B-2 (tourists) visa.

Next Week

The House and Senate are on recess until September 2.