US President Donald Trump intends to exclude individuals residing in the United States without legal residency permits from a new census, a move that could cause states with large numbers of undocumented immigrants to lose political influence and funding.

Trump stated on his platform “Truth Social” on Thursday: “I have instructed our Department of Commerce to immediately begin work on a new and very accurate census.”

He added: “People who are in our country illegally will not be counted in the census.”

Trump did not provide details regarding the legal framework, implementation mechanism, or timeline for this step. His announcement comes as Republicans work to redraw electoral district boundaries ahead of the 2026 congressional elections.

The comprehensive census in the US is conducted every ten years, with the next scheduled for 2030.

The census results have far-reaching effects as they are used as a basis for distributing federal funding to states, cities, and municipalities.

They are also used to allocate seats in the House of Representatives proportionally and to redraw electoral district boundaries for congressional elections.