An envelope containing a 2020 census letter mailed to a U.S. resident in Detroit. A federal judge on Thursday, May 21, 2020, agreed to impose financial sanctions against the Trump administration for failing to produce hundreds of documents during litigation over whether a citizenship question could be added to the 2020 census. (Paul Sancya/AP Photo)
Meanwhile, blue states and cities, particularly sanctuary jurisdictions, have faced major sweeps from federal immigration authorities, leading to questions about the number of illegal immigrants that could have been counted in the 2020 census, even though it was before the Biden-era border crisis.
The Office of Homeland Security Statistics reported in 2024 that there were roughly 2.6 million "unauthorized immigrants" living in California, and just over 2 million living in Texas as of 2022.
Many other states, like Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, and Arizona, also had numbers in the hundreds of thousands, according to the office’s estimates at the time.
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Texas Democrats stood next to Illinois lawmakers on Aug. 4, 2025, to oppose redistricting measures proposed by Texas Republicans. (Fox News)
The argument from Republicans is that if people who are non-citizens and in the country illegally are being counted, it creates an artificially high number for representation. While there’s been discussion in the past, the millions of illegal immigrants that arrived in the country during the Biden administration brought the concern back.
A proposal from Rep. Chuck Edwards passed the House last year during the Biden administration, but it never became law and was brought back by the Republican this session.
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"But even if not a single illegal alien casts a vote, the mere presence of illegal immigrants in the U.S. is having a profound impact on the outcome of elections, skewing the representation of Americans," Edwards said at the time.
"Mr. Biggs points out that the U.S. Constitution mandates that a census be carried out every ten years, where everyone who is present in the United States, regardless of their citizenship and immigration status, is counted. But the Constitution does not specify whether non-citizens or illegal aliens must be counted for the purpose of apportioning House seats," he added.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/illegal-immigrants-potentially-counted-us-takes-center-stage-redistricting-battle