House Oversight Democrats Asking Questions About Presidential Call for New Census

House Oversight Democrats Asking Questions About Presidential Call for New Census

House Oversight & Reform Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-CA-42) wrote to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Acting Census Director Ron Jarmin on August 29, 2025, requesting details on the President’s call for a new census and focusing it only on legal U.S. residents.

Garcia wrote: “I am seeking your prompt response relating to multiple press reports that President Trump directed the Commerce Department to “immediately begin work on a new” census that excludes undocumented immigrants residing in the United States, “using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.””

He submitted the following specific questions:

1. “How does your office define “legal residents” for purposes of these activities?”
2. “Is the Census Bureau engaging in any preparations or discussions to implement a mid-decade census? If yes, please explain.”
3. “Is the Census Bureau engaging in any preparations or discussions to add a citizenship question to a mid-decade census, study, survey, or decennial census? If yes, please explain.”
4. “Is the Census Bureau engaging in any preparations or discussions to use data to distinguish between U.S. citizens, legal residents and undocumented immigrants residing in the United States? If yes, please explain.”
5. “Is the Census Bureau engaging in any preparations or discussions to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment counts? If yes, please explain.”
6. “What data and information are the Census Bureau using to “reflect the number of legal residents in the United States”? Please list all sources and methods of obtaining such data, including any data from the 2024 presidential election.”
7. “What “modern technology tools” is the Census Bureau adopting relating to President Trump’s request for new Census data? Please include any data models, algorithms, or technological tools, including how they define or determine “legal residents.””

Garcia also requested the following documents and details:

1. “All documents and communications relating to the addition of a citizenship question in a mid-decade census, study, survey, and/or decennial census”;
2. “All documents and communications relating to the development or implementation of a mid-decade census, including any internal documents, feasibility studies, or funding plans”;
3. “All documents and communications relating to the Census Bureau’s adoption of tools to distinguish between U.S. citizens, legal residents, and undocumented immigrants residing in the United States”;
4. “All documents, communications, and analyses relating to costs associated with developing and implementing a mid-decade census, or a study or survey including a citizenship question”;
5. “All documents, communications, and analyses relating to costs associated with the adoption of technological tools to distinguish between U.S. citizens, legal residents, and undocumented immigrants residing in the United States”;
6. “All analyses relating to the potential impact of adding a citizenship question on response rates”;
7. “All analyses relating to the potential impact of conducting a mid-decade census, study, or survey—including such that includes a citizenship question—on federal funding allocations”; and
8. “All analyses relating to the potential impact of excluding non-legal residents from census data on federal funding allocations.”