Trump’s Push for a Mid-Decade Census: A Dangerous Overreach Threatening American Democracy

President Donald Trump’s recent directive to the Commerce Department demanding a new census that excludes undocumented immigrants is less a quest for accurate data and more an attempt to reshape America’s political landscape by dubious means.How can one leader unilaterally order a complex national exercise governed by law and Constitution? He cannot. The once-a-decade census is anchored in federal statutes, congressional oversight, and constitutional mandate requiring the enumeration of “the whole number of persons” residing in each state regardless of immigration status.Why Is This Mid-Decade Census Proposal Not Just Impractical but Illegitimate?Experts agree it would be virtually impossible—and illegal—to conduct...