• Trump directs the Commerce Department to create a new Census excluding undocumented immigrants.
• The initiative revisits a controversial issue from Trump's first term, facing potential legal challenges.
• The modified Census could affect congressional representation and federal funding allocation.
• Experts question the feasibility and legality of Trump's directive, particularly regarding mid-decade counts.
• Responses from Democrats indicate fears of constitutional violations and detrimental impacts on communities.

President Donald Trump announced on August 7 that he has instructed the Commerce Department to "immediately begin work" on a new Census that would exclude undocumented immigrants from the count. This move recalls his previous attempt during his first term to alter Census procedures and follows a long-standing argument about the population count being "based on modern day facts and figures" and the results of the 2024 presidential election, according to Reuters.

Trump's directive has sparked controversy, as the U.S. Constitution mandates counting "the whole number of persons in each state" for congressional representation. Many critics assert that Trump's plan contradicts the 14th Amendment and could lead to significant legal battles, as Congress historically oversees any changes to the Census process, as noted by NPR and ABC News.

Experts have raised concerns regarding the logistics of implementing a mid-decade census, which could be both costly and challenging. The last Census, conducted in 2020, cost nearly $14 billion, and any new large-scale count would likely face substantial hurdles in terms of funding and organization, according to Los Angeles Times and HuffPost.

The political implications of Trump's order are significant, as it could alter the distribution of congressional seats and affect federal funding. The Census data informs the apportionment process, which impacts how resources are allocated among states. Undocumented immigrants have historically been included in the count, and excluding them could disproportionately affect diverse urban areas, as highlighted by Le Monde and CBS News.

As Trump pushes for this significant policy change, the response from Democratic officials has been swift, condemning the potential violation of constitutional requirements and warning about the negative impacts on local communities and federal resources. Legal and public health experts have cautioned that a refusal to count all residents could lead to inadequate funding for critical services, as noted by Al Jazeera and Reuters.