Donald Trump has dropped another bombshell announcement that’s got people seriously wound up, and critics are warning this latest move could have massive knock-on effects across the entire country.
The President is notorious for stirring things up on Truth Social, whether he’s having a go at world leaders or dropping hints about classified documents.
Immigration has been his biggest talking point since day one, and there’s been serious pushback against ICE operations happening across multiple states.
When Trump’s not busy making headlines with his White House antics, he’s been laying out his latest plans online for everyone to see.
Now he’s posted something that could seriously mess with the lives of thousands of Americans, and one critic has slammed the move as ‘sickening’ because they’re genuinely worried about what comes next.
Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and highly accurate CENSUS based on modern day facts and figures and, importantly, using the results and information gained from the Presidential Election of 2024.”
He added: “People who are in our Country illegally WILL NOT BE COUNTED IN THE CENSUS. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Why Trump’s census changes could be a massive deal
The US census isn’t just some random government paperwork – it’s actually required by the constitution and has been happening every ten years since 1790.
The Census Bureau’s job is pretty straightforward: count every single person living in the US, whether they’re citizens or not.
But messing with how the census works can completely change the game in ways most people don’t even realize.
This could totally flip elections
Here’s where it gets really interesting – census data decides how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives.
John Bisognano from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee told NPR: “What he’s trying to do is completely reshape the American electorate. He wants to make people who voted for him and look like him more representative with more power and a bigger vote share.”
The weird thing is, if undocumented people got excluded, it wouldn’t just hit blue states – red and swing states would feel it too.
According to Pew Research Center data from 2020, if only legal US citizens had been counted in the last census, California, Florida and Texas would have each lost a congressional seat and Electoral College vote, while Alabama, Minnesota and Ohio would have gained one.
Federal funding could get completely reshuffled
Census numbers also determine how much cash different states get from the federal government, plus they’re used for planning everything from roads to schools.
Bisognano explained what this could mean: “The things that you would see in a census like he’s proposed would probably be dramatic drops in federal funding to places like Texas and Florida. You would see pretty incredible changes to the ways moneys are allocated.”
The most recent census happened in 2020 and counted 331,449,281 people total, but it doesn’t break down how many are undocumented.
The Pew Research Centre reckons there were about 11 million undocumented people in the US as of 2022, which is actually down from the peak of 12.2 million back in 2007.
The reaction to Trump’s announcement has been pretty intense across social media.
One person who uses census data professionally wrote: “I extensively use census data in my job. I figured it was only a matter of time before he came for it. This is infuriating and sickening.”
“Someone tell mister efficiency a census costs ten billion dollars,” another person pointed out.
“I’m not opening my door to a census worker,” one user declared.
But not everyone’s buying into the panic. A Reddit user tried to calm things down: “The logistics on this takes years and even then has to go through congress to approve. They are just going to fudge the numbers then send it off to congress where even Republicans won’t touch this. Release the Epstein files my dude it’s just easier at this point.”
Some people are actually backing Trump’s plan, though. One X user wrote: “A new census count for now going forward with ONLY US citizens is essential. Glad they are moving forward with it.”
Another supporter added, “Protecting elections means counting only citizens. This bill strengthens fairness and voter integrity.”