Four States Help Trump Get Accurate Count of American Citizen Population

Four states, thus far, are helping President Trump’s administration get an accurate count of the American citizen population after the United States Supreme Court blocked such a question on the 2020 Census.

State officials from Iowa, Nebraska, South Carolina, and South Dakota confirmed to NPR that they are working with Trump by giving state identification information to the Department of Commerce.

All four states are sharing their driver’s license data and state ID records with the Department of Commerce — the agency that oversees the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), last year, began sharing their identification information with the Department Commerce. Pennsylvania and New Hampshire state officials have refused to work with the Trump administration to get an accurate American citizen count.

The Trump administration tried to put the citizenship question on this year’s Census, but the Supreme Court blocked the measure in time for the questionnaires to be printed.

In response, Trump signed an executive order ordering the Department of Commerce to collect state and federal identification data to develop a fair count of the American citizen population.

Not since 1950 has the Census counted the American citizen population. For seven decades, all residents living in the U.S. have been counted on the Census but have not been asked whether or not they are American citizens or legal residents. The lack of data collection has made it impossible for the federal government to know how many citizens and noncitizens are living in the U.S.

A year from now, the Census Bureau is expected to release estimates on various citizen and noncitizen populations. That data could be used to redraw congressional districts and divide up electoral college votes solely based on the American citizen population.

Currently, those lines and votes are apportioned using a population count that includes noncitizens who are not eligible to vote, giving more power in Congress and elections to regions with significant foreign-born populations. The Census estimates that by 2060, about one-in-six residents will have been born outside the U.S.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.