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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has ignited controversy with a proposal to accelerate the U.S. Census and exclude non-citizens from congressional apportionment a move critics say is both politically motivated and unconstitutional.
Taking to social media, Greene outlined her vision for a revamped census approach, stating: “In conducting the new census of the U.S. population, it shall require questions determining the citizenship of each individual, and count US citizens only. Upon completion of the census, the bill will direct states to immediately begin a redistricting of all U.S. House seats process using only the population of United States citizens.”
The proposal, aimed at revising how congressional seats are distributed, quickly gained enthusiastic support from Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, both of whom praised the idea during a joint appearance last week. Trump declared that he and DeSantis “love” the plan.
However, as MSNBC’s Ja’Han Jones pointed out, the proposal is not only unlikely to succeed, but it also contradicts the U.S. Constitution’s clear mandate. “Greene’s Trump-backed proposal would amount to a nakedly political and unconstitutional assault on the apportionment process and, thus, the U.S. electoral system,” Jones wrote.
He referenced historian Brendan A. Shanahan, who had already criticized similar proposals earlier this year. Shanahan argued that such measures are in direct violation of the Constitution, which mandates that the “whole number” of all residents not just citizens must be counted for the purposes of federal reapportionment.
“Then, as now, such measures have a fatal flaw at their core,” Shanahan wrote. “The national constitution unequivocally requires that the ‘whole number’ of all residents in the country regardless of citizenship status be counted.”
Jones further emphasized the constitutional basis for full representation, pointing out that residents of varying immigration statuses, not just citizens, pay taxes and contribute to their communities.
“Members of Congress are hired to represent all the people who reside in their districts,” he wrote. “Citizens aren’t the only ones paying taxes in the United States, so according to our nation’s founders it follows that they shouldn’t be the only ones with representation in Congress, either.”
Though Greene’s proposal aligns with Trump-era sentiments about immigration and voter influence, legal experts and historians agree it’s destined to fail if not in Congress, then in the courts.
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