Click the + Icon To See Additional Sharing Options
Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a sweeping federal lawsuit challenging how the U.S. Census counts noncitizens for congressional apportionment, marking what her office describes as the most consequential election-related case in decades. The suit targets the United States Department of Commerce and the Census Bureau, asserting that their current practices unlawfully dilute the political representation of Missouri residents.
Hanaway argued that the continued inclusion of individuals who are in the country illegally or present on temporary visas undermines the constitutional principle of self-government. She maintained that only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are entitled to representation, stating that the policy erodes the foundational concept that governmental authority derives from the people who are members of the political community.
The lawsuit alleges that the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau are violating federal law and the Constitution by including undocumented immigrants in census totals used for congressional apportionment. Missouri is asking the court to order a new census calculation and to bar the inclusion of those populations in determining representation.
According to the filing, states that enforce immigration laws lose political influence to states that provide sanctuary to undocumented populations. Hanaway asserted that California, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland could collectively gain about 11 seats in Congress, along with 11 additional electoral votes and billions of dollars in federal funding, as a result of population totals that include illegal aliens.
The complaint traces the current policy to a shift made before the 1980 census, when the Carter administration directed that illegal aliens and temporary visa holders be included in the decennial count for apportionment purposes. Hanaway argued that such an approach would have conflicted with the intent of the Constitution’s framers and the authors of the Fourteenth Amendment, who did not envision congressional and presidential representation being influenced by people without legal status.
In July 2020, then-President Trump issued a memorandum instructing the Secretary of Commerce to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment base, although they were still counted in the census. California and New York filed suit to block the directive. The Supreme Court later vacated related injunctions, but the delays allowed the Biden administration to reverse the policy and reinstate the practice of including illegal aliens in apportionment calculations.
Missouri’s filing asserts that, had the Trump directive taken effect, the state would have gained an additional seat in the U.S. House and an extra vote in the Electoral College. Instead, the suit claims, the policy reversal reduced Missouri’s share of representation.
The lawsuit also argues that census-based funding formulas amplify the impact of the disputed counting method. The Census Bureau reports that more than 350 federal programs rely on population data to distribute money to state and local governments. By including illegal aliens in the 2020 count and planning to do so again in 2030, the complaint says Missouri has already lost funding and stands to lose more in the future.
Filed Jan. 30, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the complaint asks the court to declare that counting illegal aliens and temporary visa holders in the 2020 census and 2021 apportionment violated the Fourteenth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. It also seeks an order requiring the Census Bureau to redo the 2020 census and the 2021 apportionment using the best available methods, including a new enumeration if necessary, to remove those populations from the apportionment base.
In addition, Missouri is asking the court to rule that including illegal aliens and temporary visa holders in the 2030 census and 2031 apportionment would be unlawful and to prohibit their inclusion in future census tabulations.
Absent corrective action, the suit warns, Missouri and other states that enforce immigration laws will continue to lose representation in Congress and the Electoral College, as well as access to federal funding tied to population counts.
The full complaint can be read by clicking or tapping this link.
Post Views: 0
Related
Click the + Icon To See Additional Sharing Options